Al Roker’s daughter Leila Roker has married Sylvain Gricourt, giving the Today cohost a new son-in-law and, apparently, a slightly complicated trip home from Europe.
Al confirmed the family news on the May 12 broadcast of Today while discussing travel precautions connected to the hantavirus outbreak involving the MV Hondius cruise ship.
“I was coming from Europe this weekend from my daughter's wedding, and the CDC was asking people to voluntarily test,” Al said. “But they didn't say for what, so I just wonder if it was a precaution here.”
A wedding announcement, slipped neatly into a public health segment. Morning television remains efficient.
What Al Roker said about Leila’s wedding
Al, 71, shares Leila, 27, with his wife, ABC News correspondent Deborah Roberts. The couple are also parents to son Nick Roker, 23. Al is also father to daughter Courtney Roker, 37, from his marriage to the late Alice Bell.
The wedding timing had already been on Al’s mind. In a May 1 interview with Swooon, he noted that Leila’s ceremony would fall right around Mother’s Day weekend.
“Our daughter, Leila, is getting married, just before Mother’s Day. That Mother’s Day weekend, actually,” he said. “So, that’s kind of her Mother’s Day gift, I guess.”
It was a practical joke only a parent planning wedding logistics could fully appreciate: heartfelt, expensive, and scheduled precisely when everyone is already emotional.
Why the couple planned a small ceremony in France
Leila, who works as a public relations specialist, lives in Paris, which shaped the couple’s wedding plans from the start.
Deborah previously explained during an October appearance on Live With Kelly & Mark that Leila and Sylvain planned to hold a smaller ceremony in France before a bigger celebration in the United States.
“We have to do a small ceremony in France because she lives in Paris,” Deborah said, according to People. “And so they have to do something small there, and I said, 'Let's keep it teeny tiny.' And then she wants to come home.”
Deborah also joked that the later U.S. event would be the one where they “blow the budget,” which is usually how wedding planning announces that the spreadsheet has stopped being a source of comfort.
How Leila Roker and Sylvain Gricourt met
Leila and Sylvain’s relationship began in France in 2018 while she was studying abroad at the American University of Paris. France is also Sylvain’s home country, making the European ceremony more than just a scenic destination choice.
After several years together, Sylvain proposed in Italy in March 2025 during a surprise trip to Venice.
“8 years ago, I moved to Paris, 7 years ago I met my person and best friend,” Leila wrote on Instagram at the time, “and 2 days ago, that person took me on the most amazing surprise trip to Venice to ask me to spend the rest of our lives together.”
Al publicly celebrated the engagement as well, writing on Instagram, “We could not be happier, and look forward to planning for these two wonderful young folks coming together.”
For the Roker-Roberts family, the France wedding marks the first step in a two-part celebration: one intimate ceremony abroad, followed by a larger gathering back home. The exact details of the U.S. celebration have not been announced, but the family has made one thing clear. This was not just a travel itinerary. It was a major family milestone, with all the joy, planning, and mild chaos that tends to come with it.
