Meredith Vieira was in tears when her son, Gabe, surprised her during her Mother’s Day show on Friday. According to E! News , Vieira was given clues while her “ mystery guest ” was backstage. Producers disguised Gabe’s voice, and allowed Vieira to ask questions to see if she could figure out who was waiting to greet her. The audience could see Gabe on a screen behind his mom and cheered her on when she got on the right track.
It didn’t take long before Meredith realized it was her son.
“I saw you at this year’s Super Bowl and you might say you actually gave me my start. I’ve known your husband for more than 20 years,” Gabe said.
“Are you a reporter? Are you Gabe?” Meredith asked. And then Gabe came out, carrying flowers for his mom.
Meredith Vieira had tears in her eyes upon seeing her son.
“This is my favorite child. No, only kidding. I’m so proud of him because he graduated from Northwestern and on his own, he got his first job in Spokane, Wash., and he’s a reporter there and he’s doing a great job,” she said.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr , Vieira has always loved being a mother (she has two other children, Benjamin and Lily), but she has had a tough time figuring out a balance between having a career and raising a family .
According to Good Housekeeping , Meredith left Today after four years because she wanted to stay home and be with her family.
“I knew for a while that I was leaning [toward leaving]; my gut was telling me that it was time to go. After a four-year contract, I signed on for one more year. But as the year progressed, I began to realize that it wasn’t working for me in terms of my personal life.”
This battle between being a successful business woman, and staying home to be a mom has haunted Vieira for many years. Now that her children are grown, the decision to work is easier, but she always struggled with doing the whole “working mom” thing. Her children, however, seem to have done just fine. Gabe is really successful, and you can tell that he has a very close relationship with his mom.
Fans could tell that the moment Vieira knew that her son was at the show, she was elated. It’s beyond clear that she loves her children, and that the feeling is mutual. [Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images]