Dylan Dreyer is sharing her side of the story in her split from husband Brian Fichera.
The journalist, 44, guest hosted “Today with Jenna & Friends” on Wednesday and opened up to Jenna Bush Hager about the new chapter of her life after announcing her separation from Fichera in July.
“I appreciate everyone’s comments that have spoken up about my life and our decisions and what we have decided as a family, thank you for your opinions on that,” Dreyer sarcastically said.
“Everybody has their reasons for what leads to a separation or divorce,” she continued. “That’s another story with a lot of wine and that’s a whole different thing, but either way we’ve gotten to this place.”
Dreyer went on, “And there’s something freeing, I think, for Brian and I where — whatever reasons, whatever broke in a marriage — you could either fix it if you can and ideally you would and you try, and you try to fix things. Or you accept that it’s broken and you take this new step forward.”
The NBC newscaster, who shares sons Cal, 8, Ollie, 5, and Rusty, 4, with her ex, explained that “there was something we couldn’t fix” in the marriage, so they’ve “reframed” their relationship.
“We are no longer husband and wife and all those things that were broken, I don’t hold them against you because we’ve accepted they’re broken,” Dreyer shared.
“That’s why we’re separated. So now let’s move forward as friends. And I’m not mad at those other things that I was getting mad at before because, just like a friend you give them a little more grace when you’re not married to it. And I can be a better friend than a wife.”
Dreyer confirmed that Fichera, who is a freelance cameraman, continues to be an involved father and that the family of five still eats dinner together most nights.
“First and foremost the kids have to feel love and they have to be happy,” she told Bush Hager, 43. “I have three boys. I want their dad in their lives. They need that. They need both the dynamic of a father and a mother, and we’re providing that to them in the best way possible.”
Dreyer said she even talked to her oldest son about the shift in their family dynamic.
“I asked Calvin. I said, ‘What do you think a family is?’” she recalled. “And he said, ‘Well, it’s a group of people that love each other.’ And I said, ‘That’s what we are. And we will always be that for you. But Mommy and Daddy work better as friends than as husband and wife.’ And he doesn’t care about a title. He doesn’t care what we are officially, none of them do. They are surrounded by love every single day.”
When Bush Hager acknowledged that her colleague has been “heartbroken” over the split, Dreyer explained how she’s relied on her faith during this trying time.
“There’s something really comforting about knowing that there is a higher power holding my hand every day,” she said, adding, “I feel okay every day. I come to work and I smile and it’s not fake. I feel genuinely happy. I’m with my kids and I’m laughing all the time. I’m with Brian and I’m laughing.”
Dreyer and Fichera, who married in 2012, separated earlier this year.
“We began as friends, and we will remain the closest of friends,” Dreyer wrote in an Instagram statement on July 18. “Most importantly, we will continue to co-parent our three wonderful boys together with nothing but love and respect for another.”
“Thank you as always for your support,” she concluded.
