Al Roker Jokes He's 'Going to Do Everything' with His Grandkids That He Didn't Do With His Kids (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Al Roker holds his granddaughter.Photo:Al Roker/Instagram

Al Roker/Instagram

Al Rokerhas some rebellious grandpa goals.

“I’m going to do everything I didn’t do as a parent with my grandchildren,” he tells PEOPLE. “I am breaking all the rules.”

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Al Roker with his granddaughter.Al Roker/Instagram

He continues to joke, “This kid’s going to be on sugar overload. She’s going to get whatever she wants. It’s going to be fantastic.”

He then explains how being a grandparent “outranks everything,” including breaking the rules, “Because then I leave.”

“It’s like, ‘Okay, she’s all revved up. Here you go. Bye. Got to go. Pop Pop’s got a date with a ghost,’ " he jokingly added.

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Roker, who’s a dad to Courtney with his ex-wife Alice Bell, and shares daughter Leila, 25, and son Nick, 22, with wifeDeborah Roberts, recalls his own experience dealing with grandparent-induced sugar highs.

He says, “It’s funny, too, because I remember my mother — Deborah would come to me and say, ‘You’ve got to talk to your mother. She’s giving the kids Yodels and Ring Dings and all that.’ I said, ‘I’m not talking to her. If you want to talk to her, good luck.’ "

“But she’s a grandparent, that outranks everything,” he urged. “So as long as there’s nothing to do with giving them a car when they can’t drive or anything. I think all bets are off when it comes to grandparents.”

source: people.com