NBC News Chief White House Correspondent and Saturday TODAY co-anchor Peter Alexander wears many hats, but he is first and foremost a family man.
"There's nothing I had been looking forward to more than being a dad," Alexander, 47, tells TODAY.com. "I used to joke that I always dreamed about being surrounded by women — I should have been more specific. It's a strong girl vibe in the house, but I love it."
In an interview with TODAY.com in 2016, the proud father of two daughters, Ava and Emma, said that "juggling work and fatherhood has given me a much greater appreciation for all working parents."
"Similarly, my ability to empathize has grown dramatically since I became a dad," Alexander said at the time. "I feel the stories I'm telling much more deeply, especially about the sacrifices families make for their children."
Alexander became a father in 2013, after the TODAY co-host and his wife, TV journalist Alison Starling, announced they were expecting their first child.
“We’re thrilled!” Peter told TODAY.com at the time. “All that practice waking up for the TODAY show should have me well-prepared for several more years of no sleep. I cannot wait!”
The proud dad of Ava, 10, and Emma, 8, says his girls understand what their dad does for a living — especially after Alexander covered former President Donald Trump during his tenure in the White House at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I'll never forget when former President Trump said to me when I asked him a question at the beginning of COVID," Alexander explains. "(I said): 'You know, what do you say to Americans who were scared?' And he said: 'I say you're a terrible reporter. That's what I say.' My little one greeted me (that night) and she said: 'Dad, I don't think you're a terrible reporter. I think you're a great reporter.' So they're hyper aware."
Alexander says that becoming a parent has certainly informed his job as a reporter and Saturday TODAY co-host, adding that he brings his perspective as a father "to the White House briefing room or the set of the TODAY Show every day."
"Hopefully that makes you a better journalist, and for me I think it definitely has," he says. "It's something I'm incredibly proud of. When I was younger in this business, I sort of tried to claim that I had a real understanding of some of these topics and some of these issues as they impacted families, but not until I was a dad did they really resonate with me the way they do right now."
As Alexander welcomes his new Saturday TODAY co-host Laura Jarrett and the show returns to Studio 1A, here is a look inside the Alexander family household and the two little girls his world revolves around — his daughters.
More about the TODAY co-anchors and their families!
Ava Alexander, 10
Alexander's first daughter, Ava, was born in 2013 and on the same week Alexander was born.
"She was born in July, which basically has erased my birthday," Alexander tells TODAY.com. "I can't tell you how many of my birthdays have been spent celebrating her birthday ... but it's a pretty good gig, I'm not complaining."
There is no special meaning behind Ava's name, Alexander says, adding that "when my wife got pregnant, it was the first name that we just both agreed on and it was sort of a no brainer."
"There's no reason to create drama where there isn't any," he says. "We thought it sounded beautiful and honestly as I look at her now I couldn't imagine her as anybody else."
Now that his oldest is in the "double digits," Alexander says, he is taking stock of just how quickly time has flown by and how fast his daughter has grown.
"It's crazy to watch how fast this process goes — I know it's cliché and I know we say that but when you witness it for yourself it's really kind of striking," he says. "It does make you realize that now more than anything all I want for in life is time. I'm grateful for so many good things we have but what I really just fight for and claw for is the time."
Alexander says his daughter Ava is "the negotiator," and says that his wife would certainly say that Ava takes after her father.
"She's fastidious and she's really organized," he says. "One good example is: She'll dump out a drawer, promise she's going to organize it and has these big plans and then halfway through it ... she's like, 'Yeah, I'm moving on to the next thing.' So Ava in a lot of ways takes after me in that sense."
Emma Pink Alexander, 8
Emma Pink Alexander was born in June, 2015, and is Alexander's second daughter.
Her middle name, Pink, was picked in honor of Alexander's mom's maiden name, the Saturday TODAY co-host says.
"My grandfather was Marvin Pink, so that was sort of an honor to my mom that we gave Emma that name," he adds. "Pretty cool to be a little girl growing up with the middle name 'Pink,' right?"
Alexander recalls that when he and his wife were in the process of deciding Emma’s name, they “engaged Ava in the process.”
“There’s a video that is now ‘viral’ in our house, which is asking Ava about all these different names, some of them family names, and if she liked them and she just kept yelling ‘Emma!’” the proud dad says. “So it was pretty locked in when Ava had her say. Never a doubt.”
Alexander says that Emma is "a lot like my wife," adding that his second daughter is "very big hearted," "very caring" and "very social."
"She loves playdates and friends," he says. "Ava — I think she could be an engineer or a lawyer. Emma, whatever she does it's going to be interacting with people. It's just what she loves."
Recently and for the first time ever, Alexander took his two daughters to a TODAY Citi Concert at the Plaza to see Olivia Rodrigo perform — a thrill for both his daughters and the proud dad alike.
"As a guy who grew up watching the TODAY Show, who aspired to be a journalist and perhaps even be a part of that team ... I remember, even when I got to the network, watching the anchors be there and sometimes bringing their kids for a unique experience and just thinking: 'Man, that is the coolest thing. I hope one day I get to do that.'" he says.
"(Now I get to) do that with these girls," Alexander adds. "I just feel like those are the kinds of memories that will stick and for us, it really is special."
