Robin Roberts has endured a 2013 fraught with some major health concerns, managing to reach the end of the year even when the odds seemed stacked so high against her. In an end of year FaceBook post reflecting on the turbulent last twelve months, Roberts counted her blessings and thanked those who had helped her reach the end of 2013, included her girlfriend of nearly 10 years.

Robin Roberts CMAs
Roberts has never before divulged information about her sexuality

The FaceBook post was the first public acknowledgement from Roberts that she is in fact a homosexual, as she thanked her "entire family, my long time girlfriend, Amber, and friends" in the post. Robin and Amber Laign have managed to keep their relation a secret for almost a decade, but the FaceBook post was the first time Roberts has publicly revealed she is a lesbian and that she is in a longtime relationship. The past few years have been particularly though for Roberts too, but the pair have managed to hold together despite the various troubles they have encountered.

Laign and Roberts first met through mutual friends at the beginning of the century, eventually forming a relationship and staying together since then. According to People, Laign is a native of the San Francisco Bay-area and is a licensed massage therapist who works out of her own private practice specializing in patients recovering from injuries.


Whilst it is Laign who took away most of the spotlight in the FB post, she was not the sole person being thanked individually by Roberts. Her sister, Sally Ann, was by her side throughout her battle with myelodysplastic syndrome and provided her with the bone marrow needed to recover from the disease. The post also signalled the reunion between Robin and KJ, her pet dog who she had to be separated from during her recovery process.

Roberts' long battle with her health began in 2007 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, but she went into remission after receiving treatment. Her health concerns returned last year when she was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, a rare hematological (blood-related) disorder that required Roberts to undergo a bone marrow transplant, with her sister providing the marrow.

Robin Roberts
Few people in the public spotlight have been as brave as Roberts has this year