Good Morning America viewers saw a different lineup than usual when the ABC program presented its post-Thanksgiving episode.
In particular, regulars George Stephanopoulos and Robin Roberts were missing during GMA’s Black Friday installment.
Their co-host, Michael Strahan, returned to work after he appeared on television for Thanksgiving.
Juju Chang and Whit Johnson joined Strahan for the show during Roberts’ second-straight absence from GMA.
She had previously revealed she was not feeling well during appearances on social media but returned for GMA episodes leading up to Thanksgiving.
However, the longtime host had a good reason for missing this Thursday and Friday’s episodes, with several significant events to celebrate.
Roberts said she was ‘grateful’ for her GMA fam during her holiday absence
Roberts celebrated many things on Thanksgiving, including family, friends, and her wife. It was also a celebration of another trip around the sun, as Roberts’ birthday falls on November 23.
The Thursday episode of Good Morning America featured a crew of Whit Johnson, Gio Benitez, and Juju Chang.
Robin turned 63 this year. On her birthday eve, she shared a photo of a surprise dinner from her wife consisting of gumbo and salad.
She included the hashtag “#MaritalBliss” with her post’s caption, revealing they were heading off on a celebratory trip.
For her big day, Roberts also shared the special video greeting she received from some of her colleagues at ABC’s Good Morning America.
“Hey, Robin, we’ve got a few friends here who want to say,” Benitez said as he panned his camera shot to show other staff in the studio yelling, “Happy Birthday!”
“We love you,” he said while seated beside Chang and Johnson at the GMA desk.
“Grateful to my @goodmorningamerica fam for the birthday love!! Counting my many blessings today and every day,” Roberts said in the caption of her IG video post.
Roberts’ birthday arrived two days after her GMA co-host, Strahan, celebrated his 52nd birthday.
Strahan was on the Tuesday, November 21 show and received birthday wishes from his castmates, including Roberts, while there.
They kept any big celebration, such as partying or cake, off-camera, as that didn’t appear in the episode. However, Roberts joked at the show’s end to “bring out the band!”
Roberts was absent from GMA for a big event with her wife
Along with missing Thursday’s episode, Roberts was absent from the GMA lineup on Friday. That was to enjoy a second honeymoon with her wife, Amber Laign.
Roberts shared an Instagram video from a beautiful location with a monkey climbing down a tree and scurrying off into the green foliage of the jungle.
“It’s a jungle out there! The adventure continues with honeymoon #2 #fridayvibes,” Roberts captioned her post.
Roberts didn’t disclose a location for her second honeymoon. However, she shared additional images and videos on her Instagram Story.
That included a shot of her wife surfing while Roberts watched in admiration from the beach’s shore.
Another shot showed a beautiful scene, which Roberts shared they both appreciated seeing at the end of their day.
“At the end of the day… we both agree that watching this together is spectacular,” Roberts wrote on the image of tropical foliage and a sunset in the distance.
The couple married in September at an intimate ceremony held in the backyard of Roberts’ Connecticut home. Among the guests were GMA co-hosts Stephanopoulos and Strahan and ABC colleagues Ginger Zee, Lara Spencer, and Dr. Jennifer Ashton.
The recent time off for Roberts was likely another much-needed break for the GMA star as she’s appeared regularly on the ABC program since 1995 as a reporter. She became a co-anchor and co-host 10 years later and has continued to appear on viewers’ television sets to provide news and information.
As of this writing, Roberts hasn’t indicated how long her time off from GMA would be or when she might return to the program.