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Matt Lauer and his girlfriend Shamin Abas are still going strong.
The couple stepped out together for a date night in New York City over the weekend. The first one Today The anchor, 65, was dressed casually in jeans, a gray hoodie, a black jacket and a beanie while the PR executive, 53, wore a midi skirt, patterned top, jacket and heels.
“Matt and Shamin are happy and serious about each other,” a source tells PEOPLE of the couple. “They had a good foundation as friends and in business when they started dating, and the romance has grown over the years.”
“They are happy and both busy in their own lives, as well as together,” the source adds. “They have many interests in common.”
Another source says the two PEOPLE enjoy living a poor life together.
“They try and stay out of the spotlight but are happy together and don’t like the high life,” the source says. “They’re off the radar and down. They’re enjoying their lives.”
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Jason Kempin/Getty; Jared Siskin/Patrick McMullan/Getty Matt Lauer, Shamin Abbas
The couple’s announcement comes after a source told PEOPLE in November that the TV star has continued to tighten her inner circle five years after her eviction. Today show.
The source reported that Lauer “has distanced himself from several friendships over the past year,” particularly following the release of his former co-host Katie Couric’s novel, Going There.
“She was very upset about Katie Couric’s book,” the source revealed. “His level of trust has gone down with a lot of people he considered friends and a lot of that is because of Katie’s book, and because talking to exes is painful.”
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In 2021, another source shared with PEOPLE that Abas was “very happy” in her relationship with Lauer. The couple met through work 20 years ago and remained friends. Following Lauer’s divorce from ex-wife Annette Roque in 2019, he and Abas began dating.
Lauer and Abas both live in New York and spend time together between his business trips, according to the source, who added: “He’s a dedicated businessman who loves to work. He’s independent and has made a good life for himself.”
The source added that Abas supports Lauer “in every way” and that his past does not affect his business.
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Lauer was fired by NBC in November 2017 after a former network employee, later identified as Brooke Nevils, reported that he sexually harassed her. Several other women came forward with similar accusations shortly after.
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Nevils went public with Ronan Farrow for his 2019 book To Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and the Plot to Protect the Hunters. For Farrow, Nevils alleged that Lauer raped her in her hotel room at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, where she was working with NBC’s Meredith Vieira. Lauer has insisted that all his meetings were consensual.
