Robin Roberts returns to ‘Good Morning America,’ celebrated by Michelle Obama

It has taken nearly half of a year, but on Wednesday morning Robin Roberts was officially back on “Good Morning America.” Following a bone-marrow transplant and a lengthy recovery, her very first line on the show was all about how it had been since she had been able to utter the famous words that make up the show’s title.

Roberts was noticeably emotional being back in the anchor’s chair, but at the same time she also did not let go of her sense of humor. She joked that she was secretly wearing “froggy slippers,” tried to compare her “bangs” to those of First Lady Michelle Obama (who taped a video message with the President for her), and talked about her fellow co-anchors, who were all visibly excited to have her back.

There is little question that Roberts’ presence has lifted “GMA” in an enormous way over the past year, as the show has become a significant opponent to NBC’s “Today Show” in the ratings. As a matter of fact, its surge prompted the other network to remove Ann Curry from her post as co-anchor, and she has been replaced by Savannah Guthrie. While there are feelings of discontent by many towards NBC these days (especially anchor Matt Lauer), the folks over at ABC seem to be receiving nothing but positivity. If there are some out there who are critical of Roberts and the rest of the anchors, they are drowned out under the waves of support.

We also do want to give a small shout-out to “Today” this morning, who, despite being a bitter rival in the world of morning talk shows, actually took a few seconds to acknowledge Robin’s return to the air and wish her nothing but the best.

Roberts actually returned earlier than many expected, as some did not believe that she would be back in the anchor’s chair until May at the earliest thanks to her recovery process.

Check out a video of Roberts’ return to air below.

Photo: ABC