Matt Lauer, Katie Couric Attract Each Other, They Tell Howard Stern

Matt Lauer has told Howard Stern that thinks his former "Today" show co-host Katie Couric is hot – nine or 10 on the hotness scale. Apparently the feeling is mutual.

"Every man in America was attracted (to Couric)," Lauer told Stern on Sirius XM radio show on June 19.

"She's a very attractive woman, not only physically, but her personality. If she's a 9 or 10 physically, she's a 14 because ... she's got a great personality. She's fun," Lauer was quoted by US magazine.

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In her own interview with Stern on his radio show on May 28, Couric admitted to having a "little crush" on Lauer when he worked as a news anchor at WNBC-TV in New York.

"I thought he was so funny and so quick," she told Stern.

Lauer and Couric were together on "Today" from 1994 to 2006 when Couric left the program to become anchor of the CBS Evening News. Since then, "Today" has had a revolving chair of cohost with Lauer.

Meredith Vieria hosted from 2006 to 2011. Ann Curry lasted a year before she was fired in controversy in June, 2012. Curry had been part of "Today" for 14 seasons before becoming co-host.

Savannah Guthrie is the current co-host.

Lauer was viewed as the villain in the Curry firing, creating a backlash against the longtime "Today" host.

In March, it was rumored that CNN's Anderson Cooper had been approached to replace Lauer.

Stern pressed Lauer on his recent negative coverage, particularly by New York Times media reporter Brian Steler, who recently published a book, "Top of the Morning," about the off-camera workings of "Today."

"Well, you know what, I think it’s still a great newspaper," Lauer told Stern, according to the Huffington Post. "I think that in my personal opinion, we always deal with these things based on how they have treated you personally, and I think there has been a little erosion in some areas as of late. Overall are they still a great newspaper, as is the Wall Street Journal, which I also read in the morning."

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According to Starcasm.com, Lauer has been married to Dutch model Annette Roque since 1998. The couple had separated briefly during Roque’s pregnancy with their third child in 2006 but reconciled, the website stated. Couric married Jay Monahan in 1989 before he died of colon cancer in 1998. Starcasm.com said Couric is dating financier John Molner.

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