Annette Roque is a veteran Dutch-American model who gained fame plying her trade in Paris and the US way back in the 1980s and 90s. She is also known to have been an avid equestrian whose love for horses has led her into becoming a co-owner of a horse farm known as the Bright Side in the upscale holiday neighborhoods of the Hamptons, NY today. As a model, Annette achieved quite some fame when she featured in European cosmetics ads and also appeared in several of Victoria’s Secret and J. Crew catalogs in the US. Then known with the moniker ‘Jade’, she went as high as to become a spokesmodel for the cosmetics giant, Revlon.
Today, however, the veteran supermodel seems most popular in the media for her former relationship with her ex-husband, Matt Lauer, and the events that led to their eventual divorce. The much media furor that attended their marital fallout and consequent divorce is a lot related to the popularity of her ex who until November 2017 was a co-host of NBC’s news and talk morning program, The Today Show, for 20 years. Thus, the media attention that came with this thrust Annette even more into the spotlight as people try to pry into the former couple’s life to know exactly what became of their marriage.
Details of The Marriage Between The Former Supermodel And The TV Big Shot
Annette Roque met and fell in love with Matt Lauer at the height of her career as a model. The pair actually met through a blind date in July, 1997. The meeting between Annette and Matt was set up by Maria Santoro, a freelance stylist. When Annette met Matt, they connected almost immediately and soon started dating. Matt was already a popular news anchor working with NBC at the time.
About five months after they began to date, the couple got engaged and finally got married on the 3rd of October, 1998 in Water Mill, New York. The wedding was attended by close friends and family.
Until their divorce which came during the fall of 2019, the ex-lovers remained married for some 20 years. They ended up having three kids together: a son named Jack (born in 2001), a daughter called Romy (born in 2003), and another son named Thijs (born in 2006).
The family also shared a home in the Hamptons prior to the heights of their marital challenges. Their Hampton home was a huge mansion which they bought from Richard Gere, a popular American actor for a massive $36.5 million. The mansion had a 60-foot-heated swimming pool, 12 bedrooms, and 12 bathrooms. It also had 2 separate guest houses and a 240-foot private deepwater dock. No doubt, it was a great place to stay for the fortunate family back then.
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The Reason Annette Roque’s Beautiful Marriage Came Crashing
The marriage between Annette Roque and Matt Lauer seemed all rosy and blissful. But, as it has turned out, the union may not have been what it seemed from the outside.
In 2006, while she was pregnant with Thijs, Annette suddenly filed for divorce and claimed that Matt was indulging in ‘cruel and inhumane’ acts against her. The public and the media received the news as the shock of their lives. However, everyone heaved a sigh of relief when Annette Roque withdrew the papers 3 weeks later.
In an interview she granted on the matter then, she explained that though they were going through some hard times, they had been able to work things out. Matt also acknowledged having marital problems but also insisted that they were already in a good place.
However, in 2018, Annette was again obviously not pleased with Matt’s behavior and so she filed divorce papers for the second time. This came after Matt was accused of sexual assault and was fired from his job as a news anchor at NBC partly as a result of the accusation.
It was announced then on The Today Show as well as on their Twitter handle that Matt Lauer had been fired due to the accusation brought against him by a female colleague-at-work of inappropriate sexual behaviors towards her.
While it was said later that the woman had accused Matt Lauer of straightforward anal rape, Matt denied it saying the sexual act was consensual. And, although NBC’s investigation later found out that there was no evidence of rape, they still fired Lauer to protect the image of the show.
Matt Lauer has been terminated from NBC News. On Monday night, we received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace by Matt Lauer. As a result, we’ve decided to terminate his employment. pic.twitter.com/1A3UAZpvPb
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 29, 2017
It may be recalled that this was not the first time that Annette Roque’s ex-hubby Matt Lauer was ever accused of inappropriate sexual conduct at his workplace. In July 2016, he had been accused of making out with a female colleague named Natalie Morales on The Today Show.
However, the two journalists denied the accusation then. But when Natalie was later axed from the show, it made the public think that, maybe, there was some truth in the rumor.
All these stories of Annette’s husband’s inappropriate sexual behaviors came back to haunt the former supermodel. She couldn’t understand why she was obviously not good enough for the big-time TV personality. The story tells of how Annette first received the news with shock. Then shock turned to shame so much so that she was finding it difficult to walk on the street. Then, finally, shame turned to anger as she decided she’d had enough of the marriage.
How Annette Roque Has Been Spending Her Life Since Her Marriage With Lauer Ended
Before and immediately after their divorce in October 2019, the ex-couple’s relationship had been very much strained. Annette Roque demanded a one-time sum of $20 million from Lauer rather than an installmental spousal support payment. That was because she never wanted her and Matt Lauer to be seeing each other regularly. She made it clear that all that mattered to her from then was their children.
However, the ex-couple would later agree to make the divorce more amicable for the sake of their children. Matt agreed to pay Roque the sum that she demanded. They also sold their property in Manhattan and the Hamptons based on mutual agreement and understanding.
Now, having taken her portion of the estate she once co-owned with Matt Lauer, Annette Roque apparently gives all her time and attention to taking care of her children and her horse farm. She bought a new home for an undisclosed amount in The Hamptons and she has occassionally been spotted imcluding an occasion when she was seeing off her son Jack on his way to his College. Jack’s luggage was all packed up and mother and son were seen sharing an embrace and some wine as a parting gesture.
There have also been reports of Annette staying long months in her native Netherlands with her two younger kids Romy and Thijs. Since her divorce from Lauer, no detail regarding her love life has surfaced in the public space.
