Robin Roberts is the epitome of professionalism and has been since her early days on Good Morning America.
The morning show star has weathered her fair share of tense moments on live TV, yet none were as terrifying as when she was awaiting news of her family following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Robin opened up about her experience of preparing to go on air in the aftermath of the category five hurricane, which caused billions of dollars of damage and took the lives of over 1800 people.
“I had just been named a third anchor with the Diane Sawyer and the Charlie Gibson, and you know as a young journalist you’re thinking, ‘Am I worthy? Why am I here?'” she said on the Tamron Hall Show.
“And the hurricane hits – I’m asked to go down there, I had lost contact with my family – which, growing up in the South, you’re used to that during a storm,” she continued.
“So I get down there, and there was no way I was going on air until I knew my mama was okay. I found her just moments before we were to go live, and she was the one who encouraged me to go out there…I wanted to stay with my mama in the house, which was a little damaged.”
© GC Images“So I get back out there, and I’m the Little Cub reporter, I’m like ‘I’m here on the scene…back to you Charlie and Diane,'” Robin recounted.
“And it was Charlie who said, ‘When you left here, you didn’t know the condition of your family. Did you find them?'”
The 64-year-old then gestured to her face, indicating that she burst into tears at the time. “I mean, ugly crying,” she said. “I knew a lot of people were tuning in that morning, not knowing the whereabouts of their loved ones, and I had felt that.”
© Getty Images“But what it taught me though, Tamron, is be yourself, just show up and be you,” she explained.
Robin sadly lost her 88-year-old mother, Lucimarian Roberts, in 2012; she penned a heartfelt message on the tenth anniversary of her passing in August 2022.
“10 years ago today my beloved mother passed away,” she wrote on Instagram. “Despite her vast accomplishments, she was a humble woman.”
© Disney General Entertainment Con“I know mom was concerned about my upcoming bone marrow transplant…she wanted to be there but knew she wasn’t physically able,” the GMA anchor added.
“She found a way to be with me every step of the way, her final gift to me. Thank you, momma…I love you.”
At the time of her passing, her local area was flooded following Hurricane Isaac, making it difficult for Robin to reach her.
© InstagramLucimarian was the first black woman to serve as chairperson of the Mississippi State Board of Education.
Robin and her mother collaborated on their book, My Story, My Song: Mother-Daughter Reflections on Life and Faith.
The TV star is the youngest of four siblings, and is close to her sisters Sally-Ann and Dorothy, as well as her brother, Lawrence Jr. Her father, Lawrence Roberts, passed away in 2004 aged 81.
See Robin’s heartbreaking message following another devastating natural disaster below…
