American meteorologist Bri Winkler is famed among the fans for her time at ABC7. She left the job back in 2017, but to this day, she remains in our hearts as a jolly reporter.
Talking about her personal life, Winkler once suffered from a stroke which she fortunately recovered from soon. Since then she has been advocating about the health issue and making people aware of this medical emergency.
Besides, the Santa Barbara resident is single and not in a relationship. However, there are rumors that she has been engaged. Is it true? Is Bri Winkler hiding a boyfriend?
Let’s find out all the answers here today!
Bri Winkler Wiki-like Biography: About her Mom and Dad
Bri was born Brianne Lauren Winkler on October 24th, 1987, in Massachusetts. Many sources suggest her birthday is on October 25, however, this Instagram post by Bri says otherwise.
Besides, she is the daughter of John Karsten Winkler and, Terry Shaw. Bri’s dad used to work as the Permit Chief at the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
And no, Bri is not related to actor Henry Winkler.
Bri Winkler and her father JohnHer mom and dad divorced a while back. As of this moment, both of Bri’s parents are in different relationships. On one hand, her mother is married to her boyfriend since April 2017. The former weather reporter Bri shared pictures from the big day alongside her family.
Bri’s mom married after separating from her fatherMeanwhile, her dad John is in a relationship with a woman named Pamela Weir. According to John’s Facebook account, he is dating Pamela since September 2012. Moreover, the duo also takes care of Pamela’s daughter from a previous relationship, Erin Ruth Weir.
Despite her parents’ differences, Bri still shares a loving bond with both of them. Back when she was active on Instagram, she used to share a lot of pictures with her parents.
Bri has two siblings: A brother and a Sister
Bri has two siblings whom she considers her rock. Her brother’s name is Dave Winkler. As of this moment, he is married to his girlfriend and takes care of his four kids, two girls and two boys.
Bri with her brother and sisterOn the other hand, Bri’s sister Tara Yarsites Riggs is happily in a marital relationship with her hubby, Eben Riggs. Just like her brother Dave, she too has four children.
Bri has a cordial relationship with her siblings and they often hang out together whenever time permits.
Bri Winkler’s Education
Upon graduating high school, Bri studied Bachelor of Science in Marine and Atmospheric Science. She majored in Meteorology and minored in Math and Broadcast at the University of Miami from 2005 to 2009. During her time in college, she was a member of Atmo Club, Chi Epsilon, Pi Honor Society, NewsVision, and SportsDesk.
Right after graduating from college, she decided to not pursue further education and started working. However, after a decade worth of hiatus, she joined the Masters of Environmental Science and Management, Energy, and Climate program in 2017. She completed her Master’s degree in 2019.
Bri Winkler’ is famous as the meteorologist for ABC7
It was back in 2011, when Bri, by sheer luck, was selected by the KABC-TV, an ABC7 affiliate as their weekend meteorologist. After joining the network, she moved to the Greater Los Angeles Area.
She worked as their weather girl and a reporter. In a matter of a few years, she amassed a huge fan following and literally took the weather forecasting world by storm.
She starting working in September 2011 before calling it quits after five years in May 2017. At the time, she’d decided to pursue a Master’s degree.
Before ABC7, she first got her start in 2009 at the Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Amarillo, Texas. She worked there till 2011.
Bri was a subject of controversy after she joined ABC7
When she joined the famed network, there was a lot of stir in the media. Why? Well, because she had very little experience and being selected by such a big network felt rather odd.
It was after her selection when a veteran meteorologist Kyle Hunter filed a discrimination lawsuit against KABC-TV. What happened was, Kyle also had applied for the same position for which Bri was selected. According to Kyle, given his years and years of experience, he should’ve been selected for the position.
The lawsuit further stated that at the time Arnie Kleiner, KABC-TV President, and Cheryl Fair, KABC-TV Vice President had decided to “hire a young, attractive female for this position — preferably a blonde who physically resembled Indra Petersons.” Indra previously held the position.
Furthermore, Kyle also alleged Bri didn’t even send a formal application for the hiring process.
What is Bri Winkler doing now in 2021? A climate specialist in Santa Barbara
A year after quitting ABC News, she started working at the Environment Defense Center in 2018. After working at the institute for seven months, she worked at the University of California as a research assistant in Scoping Ocean Plastics.
Since 2019, she is working as Energy and Climate Specialist at the City of Santa Barbara.
Bri Winkler’s had a close call with Stroke
One might be able to predict the weather but no one can predict a health scare. This is what happened to Bri Winkler on September 12, 2012, a day after Patriot Day.
It was just a regular day for Bri as she was about to wake up at 5:oo clock in the morning for her daily exercise. However, things went awry five minutes after she woke up. She started losing hearing out of her right ear followed by numbness towards the right side of her face, arms, and leg.
Soon, Winkler wasn’t able to stand so she crawled to the phone and called her sister, Tara, who lives in Boston. When Tara heard about the situation, she thought it might be due to low pressure. She then persuaded Bri to crawl towards the kitchen and munch on something that might help.
Back then, Tara discredited the idea of stroke as their family didn’t have any history of this problem. However, she later realized that it was far more serious than just low pressure. Consequently, she asked one of her friends who lived near Bri to call 911.
Paramedics arrived soon and they rushed Bri to the Huntington Hospital. After initial testing, turns out Bri had a rare case of stroke and its main cause was vertebral artery dissection. According to the doctor, the incident could’ve occurred due to a certain yoga pose or chiropractic manipulation, something which Bri did before the incident.
Who is Bri Winkler dating? Is she really engaged with someone?
Firstly, no, the beautiful Bri is not engaged to anyone. Till now, there has been no news of her engagement with someone. The rumors started by several tabloids are completely false and vague. According to many of them, she has been betrothed to someone since 2017. Nevertheless, it is all false.
Now talking about her current relationship status, according to her social media posts, she is not dating anyone at the moment. She has not been active on Instagram lately and just recently made a few tweets after years of interval.
Previously, Bri shared a throwback picture from her senior prom night. Back then, she took one of her closest friends Frankie as her prom date. Take a look!
Bri shared an old picture from her prom dateWell, even if she is dating someone, we wish nothing but the best for the couple.