Katie Couric appears on The Wendy Williams show on Nov. 22, 2010. - Provided courtesy of Debmar-Mercury

Katie Couric denies 'Today Show' return

11/21/2010 by Corinne Heller

Katie Couric denies reports she is thinking about returning to "The Today Show" and adds that she is unsure if she wants to marry boyfriend Brooks Perlin.

The 53-year-old CBS News anchor made her comments on The Wendy Williams Show in an interview that aired on Monday. Couric was a permanent co-host on "The Today Show" on NBC between 1991 and 2006.

"People are always speculating about me," Couric said. I don't know why. I guess it's good when people are interested in you. No, no, that's not something ... I love "The Today Show", I miss all my friends on "The Today Show".

"I still see Matt (Lauer) a lot, and I saw Al (Roker)," she added. "He was running in Central Park the other day and I said 'Hey Al,' and he said 'Hey' and I'm like 'Hey, it's Katie!' He thought I was a random fan!"

Couric also spoke about her relationship with Perlin, 36, who she had dated since about early 2007. Asked if she plans on marrying him, she said: "I don't know".

"I'm really happy with the way things are, and maybe one day I'd like to be re-married, but it's not something I really think about," she said. "I like having my independence and my girls for them it's the new normal. I wish they had known their Dad, but it's fine and I'm really happy."

Couric's husband, NBC News legal analyst Jay Monahan, died at age 42 in 1998 after battling cancer. Their daughters, Elinor and Caroline, are 19 and 14 years old.