Forty years is a long time for anything, particularly a marriage.
This year marks the 40th wedding anniversary of Lester Holt, anchor of NBC Nightly News, and his wife Carol Hagen. Both have earned a reputation for themselves in their respective businesses over the last four decades, and they have produced two great boys. They are also grandparents to three lovely grandkids.
Holt and Hagen initially met in 1980, when Holt was a college student and Hagen was a flight attendant. Soon after they started dating, the aspiring journalist asked Hagen if she desired to join him to an out-of-control forest fire.
She thought to herself that she’d never been requested to go on a breaking news story before,’ she remarked. A forest fire—that might be a hot date! So she responded yes to the offer. She believes she understood what she was getting herself into when she agreed to work with Lester and his profession.
Holt chatted with Jerry Nachman, a former reporter and mentor who just joined WCBS-TV, when the couple was on holiday in New York City. When the 22-year-old visited the studio, he was encouraged to try his hand at television. He was used to listening to the radio.
He received a call from WCBS within a few weeks offering him a position in New York City. Because Hagen was laid off as a result of the airline industry’s decline in 1981, she joined Holt in New York.
The pair quickly relocated to Los Angeles, where Holt worked as a weekend anchor and reporter for KNXT-TV. He went back to WCBS for three years before being offered a job in Chicago.
Holt, 27, and his wife were expecting their first baby together at the time. Stefan Holt was born, and the family of three spent the following 14 years in Chicago.
Cameron, the couple’s second son, was born a few years after Stefan.
He confessed it was time to hunt for a new career after getting demoted at his previous work in Chicago. He was about to accept a deal with a California station when NBC’s cable news upstart MSNBC called him.
Holt was conflicted. Should they visit his relatives in California or embark on a new adventure?
It’s funny since California is their home, yet travelling to New York? She simply realized that was the proper thing to do, Carol explained.
They settled in New York, where Holt presently anchors NBC Nightly News. Hagen started her second job as a real estate agent.
The couple marked numerous milestones together throughout the years while simultaneously coping with parenthood, relocation, and their professions. But, despite all, they have remained strong. Holt claims it’s all because the two like laughing.
They have a lot of fun; they truly do. He is silly; she’s sillier, Holt stated.
She realizes that when the bell rings, he prefers to answer it, and when the big story is happening, he wants to be there. He adores her; she’s been so nice; she understands this work will need a lot of late-night phone calls… But she’s always there for him, and that matters a lot.
While it appears that life isn’t slowing down for the couple, they still make time to visit with their sons, who are in their 30s, and their three grandkids, who call Holt “grand dude.”
It’s great to see some of your child’s characteristics show through in these grandkids, Holt told Yahoo. Sometimes, even his son does not always see what they do. But it’s just as entertaining to see them grow. It’s also exciting to witness one kid take on the role of parent and inculcate ideals in their kids. It’s very unique.
This is what a 40-year marriage looks like. You can see Lester and Carol care deeply about one other and their family. May they have many more happy years together.
