It appears that Lester Holt will have some more free time at home with the family.
Earlier this week, the veteran NBC news anchor announced that he would be stepping down from his role as host of the network's flagship news broadcast, a position he has held for almost ten years.
The award-winning journalist has also been hosting Dateline since September 2011, and said in his departure announcement that he intends to not only stay in that role, but he will now be "expanding my footprint on the broadcast and crafting Dateline hours on subjects I care deeply about."
He also wrote in his statement: "After 10 years, 17 if you include my years on the weekends, the time has come for me to step away from my role as anchor of Nightly News," adding: "It has truly been the honor of a lifetime to work with each of you every day, keeping journalism as our true north and our viewers at the center of everything we do."
Learn more about Lester's life away from the news desk below.
© Getty ImagesHe has been married since 1982
Lester has been married to Carol Hagen since 1982. They met when she was a flight attendant and he was a radio reporter in California — he is originally from Marin — and shortly after getting married, they moved to New York City.
They would then move back to California and for a time Chicago before making their way back to New York, where they ultimately raised their family.
© Getty ImagesCarol is a real estate agent
Carol has worked as a real estate agent for several years, and even aided in the sale of their own New York City apartment in August 2017.
She has also always been incredibly supportive of Lester's busy job, and during the pandemic, when many newscasters had to do their broadcasts from home, Carol was the one responsible for making sure Lester had a proper set up.
Tuning in from home to The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in 2020, Lester joked: "My wife, along with being set director, lighting director and technical manager, is also the dog handler," noting that she makes sure their pup never barked while he was on camera.
© GettyThe couple has two sons
They welcomed their first son, Stefan Holt, 38, in 1987, and he has gone on to follow in his father's footsteps. After graduating from Pepperdine University in 2009, he began working for ABC, before moving on to NBC; he is based in Chicago.
His younger brother, Cameron, is 35, and graduated from Stanford University in 2012 with a bachelor's degree in mathematical and computational science, and is currently an executive director at Morgan Stanley in New York.
© InstagramCarol and Lester are grandparents
Carol and Lester first became grandparents in 2017, when their son Stefan and his wife Morgan welcomed their first child, Henry. They have since welcomed two other sons, Samuel and James.
