Some may remember that back in early 2022, John Roberts took a weeklong hiatus from Fox News. When he returned, he shared that he’d gotten a pacemaker — and as it turns out, it wasn’t the first time the White House correspondent had to take action to protect his cardiovascular health.

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Roberts opened up about his new pacemaker in a February 2022 broadcast of “America Reports.” Revealing that the week prior he’d gone straight from the show’s set to the hospital, he shared that he’d had stents put in several years prior, soon after covering the Russia-United States Summit in Helsinki. Unfortunately, one of those had been blocked, which meant he needed to undergo a procedure for it. However, that wasn’t all. As he shared on “America Reports,” “The electrical circuitry in my heart was going bad, so I’m now battery-powered. I’ve got a pacemaker.” 

Sweetly, the Fox News personality shared that once Mike Pence caught wind of his health struggle (which the former VP had faced in the past, too), he’d received a call. “We had a lovely conversation about what it’s like to be a pacemaker recipient and the way forward,” Roberts gushed. Roberts also got well wishes from other public figures. “The View” alum Meghan McCain posted a “Rocky” GIF in response to his joke on X (formerly known as Twitter) that post-pacemaker he was an “#EnergizerBunny.” His “America Reports” co-anchor, Sandra Smith, also gushed over how relieved she was to have him back on the show — though she did point out that he’d been more keen to return than anyone had expected, given the situation. “We tried to get you to rest more; you were just eager to get back into the news,” she said with a laugh. Roberts responded by reiterating his quip about being battery-powered and ready to go. 

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Of course, longtime fans of John Roberts will know that the Fox anchor has never kept his medical issues a secret. Speaking to Variety in 2018, he explained that the year prior, when he’d asked Donald Trump a question after the then-first-time president shut down Jim Acosta, that wasn’t due to any disdain for his CNN colleague or even an allegiance to Trump. Rather, he recounted, “From the moment I woke up until I was sitting in that press conference, I thought I was having a heart attack … At that moment I was more concerned with trying to make sure I didn’t keel over in front of everybody.” 

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A few years (and three stents) later, Roberts again spoke about his cardiovascular health, this time with Washingtonian. In the 2020 interview, he said, “Smoking earlier in my life is why I have three pieces of stainless steel in my heart.” Because of that, he added, he was very strict with his kids about not trying it for themselves. He also shared that he was super active when he was with them, so they’d be able to see his healthy habits being modeled. 

Unfortunately, Roberts also noted in the Washingtonian interview that COVID regulations had made it harder for him to exercise as much as he liked. “Sitting is the new smoking,” he said. He added that even though he continued to stay active at home, he still didn’t believe it was enough. It’s not clear if that played a role in his needing a pacemaker in early 2022. However, it’s safe to say that even with his health issues over the years, Roberts is committed to staying on top of them in any way he can. We’re wishing him the best of health going forward!

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