G.M.A.’s Sam Champion to Wed Rubem Robierb

Sam Champion, the weather anchor of ABC’s “Good Morning America,” said Friday that he planned to marry his fiancé, Rubem Robierb, at the end of the year.

Mr. Champion first mentioned his plans in a New York Times story about another couple’s wedding. It marked his first public statement about his sexuality.

Mr. Champion is the first co-host of a network morning television show to publicly identify as gay. He is expected to talk about his upcoming wedding on Monday’s “G.M.A.”

In a statement on ABCNews.com, Mr. Champion said Friday, “We are thrilled and so excited and thank everyone for their good wishes.”

The acknowledgment of Mr. Champion’s sexual orientation came a few months after Anderson Cooper, the CNN host, went public with his sexual orientation through an e-mail message to the blogger Andrew Sullivan. A number of other public figures have gone public with their relationships this year in seemingly casual ways, reflecting (and perhaps accelerating) public acceptance of gays and lesbians.

Mr. Champion’s sexual orientation was no secret to the staff of “G.M.A.,” nor to his colleagues and competitors in the media industry. He exuberantly showed off his engagement ring to colleagues the day after becoming engaged and brought Mr. Robierb to parties with fellow co-hosts. But he didn’t speak publicly about it.

That changed last weekend when Mr. Champion and Mr. Robierb attended the wedding of Thomas Roberts, an MSNBC anchor who is also gay. Jacob Bernstein wrote the following in a Sunday Styles section article about the wedding, published online on Friday afternoon:

Among the 170 or so guests at the reception was Sam Champion, the weather anchor at ABC’s “Good Morning America.” He took a turn on the dance floor with his partner, the photographer Rubem Robierb.

“We’re getting married New Year’s Eve in Miami,” Mr. Champion said in the spirit of the moment.

Mr. Robierb corrected him: “We’ll do it here officially, and then have a party in Miami.”

ABC followed up with a short story on its own Web site.

Source & Image : New York Times