Today's Al Roker's wife opens up about 'season of sadness' in family life during star's time away from work

Al Roker and his wife Deborah Roberts have had a difficult few months, which was summed up by Deborah in a new video on social media on Sunday.

The ABC news reporter took to Instagram to post a personal video with her fans while at home with her family during the Labor Day long weekend.

She apologised that she hadn't done a video for a while, admitting that it had been a "season of sadness".

Al and Deborah's beloved family dog Pepper passed away in June, which was a very difficult time for the couple. Not only that, but Deborah's brother has been ill, and she lost a good friend.

She explained: "As you all know I lost my beloved Pepper and that was "very, very, hard," and right on the heels of that, I lost a very dear friend, and on the heels of that, my brother was also very ill. So I had a number of things happening at one time and it just kind of walloped me."

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The couple then faced the inevitable sad goodbye to their youngest son Nick at the end of August, as they dropped him back off at college.

At the time, Deborah shared a photo of herself hugging her youngest child goodbye on Instagram, and wrote: "Well, that’s that. Move in, done. Nest is empty again.

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"Certainly not as bad as year one. Yet, our hearts are sagging a bit. But his smile ensures that we will all be ok. Here’s to a great junior year, Nick.#emptynest #college #drop."

Al also posted several photos from the dropoff, and wrote: "Dropped Nick off this afternoon. Hard to believe we have a college junior!! House is a little too quiet."

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While it's been a hard time for the couple, they have also had a lot of joy in the form of their beloved granddaughter, Sky.

This weekend, they are enjoying spending time away from New York City in their country house with their loved ones, including the youngest member of their family.

Al has been off the Today Show, with Dylan Dreyer stepping in to report on the weather in his absence.

Al shared a sweet series of photos of himself holding a beaming Sky while out in the backyard, and wrote in the caption: "I can’t help but smile when I am around Sky Roker Laga. This kiddo brings such joy. I am definitely not laboring on this day to smile. It just comes naturally."

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Sky is the daughter of Al's oldest child, Courtney, who he shares with ex-wife Alice Bell.

Al and Courtney have a close relationship and recently wrote a cooking book together, Al Roker's Recipes to Live By, which they will be taking on the road next month for a book tour around the United States.