Spencer Christian reveals daughter saved him from his gambling habit

ABC7 Weather Anchor and former Good Morning America host Spencer Christian opened up about his gambling addiction while appearing on GMA. 

The 70-year-old sat with Robin Roberts to discuss his book ‘You Bet Your Life’ and how he struggled to mask his addiction while during his 13-years on the morning show.

‘Yeah, when I began to acknowledge to myself that it was a problem, I was embarrassed and felt guilty,’ he said. 

‘I didn’t want my friends and public and my colleagues to know because I didn’t want to be viewed as someone who was stupid and foolish, how can I a smart guy make such dumb decisions in his life?’ 

‘Yeah, when I began to acknowledge to myself that it was a problem, I was embarrassed and felt guilty,’ he said

Spencer Christian sat with Robin Roberts to discuss his book 'You Bet Your Life' and how he struggled during his 13 years forecasting weather on GMA

Spencer Christian sat with Robin Roberts to discuss his book ‘You Bet Your Life’ and how he struggled during his 13 years forecasting weather on GMA

Christian - whose book came out this month - said that his daughter presented him with an ultimatum that if he wanted to be involved in his grandchildren's lives, he would need to change his ways

Christian – whose book came out this month – said that his daughter presented him with an ultimatum that if he wanted to be involved in his grandchildren’s lives, he would need to change his ways

Christian shared that at one point, his frequent visits to ATMs to withdraw cash for his habit alerted the likes of the FBI. 

He said: ‘Before every gambling trip I’d go to three or four banks where I had accounts, I would take cash and when I came back I’d have all this cash to redeposit and fit the pattern of someone covering up drug money or whatever.

‘And so that’s why I was being investigated.’

But luckily, FBI agents found no criminal activity and gave Christian a dose of hard truth.  

‘He said you’ve obviously got a gambling problem and for your own good you need to seek some help,’ the anchor said. ‘Whew, that was a scary moment and it was a huge wake-up call.’

And while he tried to hide his problems with gambling from his loved ones, an eventual conversation with his daughter would set him on the right path.  

Christian said: ‘My daughter was getting married and she sat down and had a talk with me. She said, “Dad, you know I admire you and love you and think the world of you but you’ve got this problem and I’m going to bring grandchildren into your life.”

Christian said: 'My daughter was getting married and she sat down and had a talk with me. She said, "Dad, you know I admire you and love you and think the world of you but you've got this problem and I'm going to bring grandchildren into your life."

Christian said: ‘My daughter was getting married and she sat down and had a talk with me. She said, “Dad, you know I admire you and love you and think the world of you but you’ve got this problem and I’m going to bring grandchildren into your life.”

‘”Do you want your grandchildren to know their grandchildren is a gambler? Is this the legacy you want to leave? Is this the way you want to be defined?” And, oh, it just hit me like a ton of brick.’ 

The father would eventually beat his addiction and hopes his story will inspire others to seek help when they need it. 

‘I think it is that it’s never too late to change the direction of your life and you’re never alone,’ he said. ‘We all have problems. Even those of us who seem to be living the perfect life have problems.’ 

'"Do you want your grandchildren to know their grandchildren is a gambler? Is this the legacy you want to leave? Is this the way you want to be defined?" And, oh, it just hit me like a ton of brick.'

‘”Do you want your grandchildren to know their grandchildren is a gambler? Is this the legacy you want to leave? Is this the way you want to be defined?” And, oh, it just hit me like a ton of brick.’



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