Nearly a decade into her marriage with husband John Molner, Katie Couric revealed that the secret behind their relationship is a promise she made to him in her vows.
As the couple prepare to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary later this year, Couric, 67, exclusively told Us Weekly that she kept her marital promise to never stay mad at her partner for longer than 72 hours. “Yeah, I think that stayed the course,” she shared while promoting the Cologuard Classic golf tournament, which helps spread awareness for colon cancer prevention.
“I think there’ve been some 48-hour periods that were not so loving,” she continued. “But I think, in general, we’re both very stubborn, and I’ve tried to really work on being conciliatory, even when I know I’m right. And honestly, I’m so lucky. I have a really wonderful husband who always has my back and always makes me laugh.”
The journalist began dating Molner, now 61, in 2012 and tied the knot two years later during a picturesque ceremony in East Hampton, New York. Couric recalled what she stated in her vows in her 2021 memoir, Going There, writing, “I promise not to stay mad at you for more than 72 hours in the event you do something colossally stupid — such as take my car key with you 140 miles from our home on the Monday of Memorial Day weekend, while I have teenage girls and a flight in four hours to the West Coast for a BIG interview the next morning.”
Couric poked fun at the couple’s upcoming relationship milestone in a birthday tribute for Molner earlier this year. “I’m the lucky girl who married you almost (gulp!) 10 years ago,” she captioned a slideshow of pics from over the years via Instagram on January 21. “Here’s to more adventures, more laughs and even more fun…remember what you tell me? ‘We’re never going to be any younger!’ Here’s to making the most of every day! Love, your older woman ❤️.”
The former Today host married Molner nearly two decades after her first husband, Jay Monahan, died of colon cancer at age 42 in January 1998. Couric has since worked as an advocate for colon cancer awareness and prevention.
Katie Couric, John Molner. Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
“This is something that I have cared deeply about since I lost my husband, Jay, of the disease when he was 42, now, gosh, 26 years ago, which is hard to believe,” she told Us ahead of the Cologuard Classic, which was held in Tucson, Arizona, from March 8 through March 10 and included colon cancer patients, survivors and caregivers from across the country. “And so, these are my people here in Tucson, and that’s why I’m so happy to be a part of this.”
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Getting the chance to change people’s lives by encouraging them to get screened for colon cancer — not just through National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month in March, but the entire year — is something Couric told Us “means the world” to her. “I mean, how many people have that experience that they have had that kind of direct impact on someone’s life? And having lost Jay, I realize what that means,” she added. “The things they’ll be there for, the milestones they’ll reach, the life experiences they’ll have that they might not have if they hadn’t gotten screened.”
Katie Couric, Jay Monahan. Robin Platzer/Getty Images
She went on to note that “you don’t have to be the anchor of the Today show or have a million social media followers or whatever to make a difference,” adding, “You can do things that are on a smaller scale and still have an enormous impact.”
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
