LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The 61-year-old award-winning journalist Sam Champion has received immense praise from members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community for sharing his struggles as a homosexual man in the early days of his career. The longtime anchor of ABC’s WABC-TV and the former 'Good Morning America' weather anchor shared an inspiring post with his followers on social media where he spoke about self-acceptance and most importantly, living with truth.

Sam has enjoyed a successful career in journalism having nearly three decades of experience in the field. He was the managing editor of The Weather Channel before making his return to WABC-TV in 2019. On the personal front, Sam has been married to Rubem Robierb for 11 years. He revealed that he faced a lot of hardship before he embraced who he truly was.

‘First network anchor to come out publicly’

In his recent Instagram post, Sam shared two screenshots of him anchoring an episode of 'GMA'. He captioned the post to remind everyone that his journey to being openly out wasn’t easy. He wrote, “Hard to believe I still get to do this! @abc7ny since 1988 … @goodmorningamerica since 1989…1st local NY anchor “outed” by the tabloids in the ’90s.. 1st network anchor to come out publicly (and marry). It was all scary… but NO regrets happy pride thank YOU for your trust and support.”

Everyone in the comment section praised Sam for his bravery and applauded him for sharing his journey. A user wrote, “It’s because of pioneers like you that I was able to go into on-air meteorology. Many kudos to you my friend!” while another said, “Trailer blazer. Icon. Beautiful human.” Fans deemed him a true role model for the community, as one said, “You are the ultimate role model. THANK YOU you for inspiring those of us following in your footsteps to be unapologetically ourselves.” Sam has also received the support of his husband Rubem all these years.

Who is Rubem Robierb?

Rubem is a successful visual artist from Miami, Florida. His works as a photographer and sculptor prpvides political messages about climate change and LGBTQ+ rights. Rubem’s works can be seen on his Instagram page, where he has a dedicated following of over 22,000 people. Rubem married Sam in 2012 and the couple shares a common interest in globe-trotting. Sam and Ruberb often make time to travel and explore, with their social media accounts complementing their interests. While Sam continues to entertain and inform, fulfilling his journalistic duties, Rubem makes the world a better place with his art.