Matt Lauer Seen at Hamptons Party With Girlfriend

Matt Lauer made a rare public appearance over the Fourth of July weekend, attending a holiday party in the Hamptons with girlfriend Shamin Abas. The outing marks one of the few times the former television anchor has been photographed since stepping away from the public eye following his 2017 termination from NBC's Today show.

According to photographs obtained by People, Lauer, 68, and Abas, 56, attended Patriots owner Robert Kraft's annual holiday party during the Independence Day weekend. Lauer wore a white button-up shirt, tan blazer, and sunglasses for the occasion, while Abas chose an orange tropical sundress accessorized with sunglasses and a statement necklace.

The couple's previous public sighting occurred in March during an evening out in Sag Harbor, New York, according to the outlet. Their appearances together remain infrequent as Lauer continues to maintain a low profile.

The recent outing comes five months after Brooke Nevils released her memoir, Unspeakable Things: Silence, Shame and the Stories We Choose to Believe, which arrived in bookstores in February. The book details Nevils' experience with Lauer and her allegations against the former anchor.

Nevils, who worked as a producer on Today, filed a formal complaint against Lauer in 2017 during the height of the MeToo movement. She accused him of anally raping her in his hotel room in Russia while they covered the Olympics for NBC. The allegations led to Lauer's termination from Today. Nevils subsequently took a leave of absence from the morning program before departing the role entirely.

Lauer denied the allegations in a 2019 letter, asserting that his experiences with Nevils were "completely mutual and consensual." Nevils has countered that she was too intoxicated to provide consent to Lauer.

In her memoir, Nevils described the encounter in stark terms. "In that room, I wasn't myself anymore so much as a body suddenly at someone else's disposal," she wrote, adding that no "decent man pressures a terrified, decades-younger woman to do" what Lauer allegedly did.

Nevils recounted returning to her own room afterward and observing in the mirror that she appeared visibly intoxicated, describing her appearance as "not just wasted but wrecked." Lauer has not publicly responded to the revelations contained in Nevils' memoir.

Following Nevils' initial allegations in 2017, multiple other women came forward with their own accusations against Lauer. He and then-wife Annette Roque separated shortly after the allegations emerged. Roque filed for divorce in 2019, ending more than two decades of marriage. The former couple shares three children.

During his divorce proceedings, Lauer developed a romantic relationship with Abas. The two had been friends for years before their connection evolved beyond friendship.

If you or anyone you know has been sexually assaulted, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). A trained staff member will provide confidential, judgment-free support as well as local resources to assist in healing, recovering and more.