Aurora Starchild
Lara Spencer has been a regular on Good Morning America since 1999. The 53-year-old TV host, producer, and author got her professional start working for a CBS affiliate and has covered topics ranging from a TWA flight crash to lifestyle and antiques roadshows. After a little hiatus from GMA, she’s back in action, much to her fan’s delight. Here are five things to know about the veteran Good Morning America co-host.
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Lara Spencer Has Been Married Twice
Lara Spencer was married to CNN reporter David Haffenreffer for fifteen years. The two tied the knot in 2000 and divorced in 2015. They welcomed their first child, Duff, in 2002. Their daughter Katharine (Kate) was born in 2004. Despite their announcement to part ways, the two have remained on good terms. Page Six reported that they even took their children on a vacation after announcing their divorce.
Spencer found love again in Richard “Rick” McVey. The two became engaged in January of 2018 after being set up on a blind date. McVey is a tech entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of MarketAxess and has a whopping net worth of almost half a billion dollars. Spencer and McVey said their vows in September of 2018 and have remained together ever since.
She Used to Be a Competitive Diver
Lara Spencer’s athletic build didn’t come out of anywhere. She received a scholarship to Penn State after graduating from Garden City High School in 1987. Spencer graduated with a degree in journalism from Penn State in the Class of 1991 and competed in springboard and platform diving. She was named an All-American Athlete in her senior year and later selected as grand marshal for Penn State’s 2014 Homecoming.
Spencer once compared the vulnerability of diving to that of being on TV.
“I was a diver. Looking back, I realize that putting yourself out there, literally, on the edge of the platform is very similar to doing live TV,” she said (via Marie Claire). “It’s taking the plunge and knowing, with lots of practice, it’ll work out fine.”
Lara Spencer still loves jumping from extreme heights. Two summers ago, at the age of 52, she shared a thrilling video of her daughter Katharine (about 17 at the time) taking a nearly 20 foot leap off of a cliff into the water. The mother-daughter duo jumped feet-first off of the granite while rocking bikinis. Fans were stunned.
“Does it look as high as it felt?” she captioned her post (via Hello! Magazine). “Thought I could show my daughter how it was done from back in my diving days…. Turns out cliff diving is *not* ‘just like riding a bike’. #6meters #motherdaughter.”
Lara Spencer Was Once a “One-Man Band”
After graduating from Penn State, Spencer landed a one-year paid fellowship with the NBC page program. From there, she was hired onto to CBS affiliate WDEF-TV in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1992. As a reporter, she had to do it all.
“I was hired as a ‘one-man band’: I shot, wrote, and edited all my pieces,” said Spencer. “I’d be in the pouring rain, setting up the camera, and trying to look remotely attractive—it was a train wreck! The upside is that I think more like a producer now.”
She also had to drive her own news van! It was far from the glamorous jobs she holds now, but it certainly gave her some well-rounded experiences.
She’s Had More Than One Surgery
Athletes are no strangers to injuries, but Lara Spencer has been through the ringer. At the age of 47, she had to undergo surgery for a hip replacement. She was experiencing chronic pain in her right hip and was initially diagnosed with hip dysplasia, which leads to the wearing down of cartilage.
“It was so upsetting,” Spencer explained on GMA (via Hello! Magazine). “I waited for a long time before I did anything about it or told anyone because it sounds like it’s an old person’s problem and I just couldn’t believe it.”
The TV host eventually realized that there was nothing to be embarrassed about. Her physician also explained to her that about 10% of hip replacements are performed on people under the age of 50.
“I have a genetic predisposition for this but if you’re athletic and you move, it’s happening younger and younger,” Spencer explained. “I love sports, I love being active, I love challenging myself. I was a jock growing up from the time I could walk.”
In January of this year, Spencer had to deal with yet another injury. She showed up on GMA with a “tricked out” scooter and a surgical boot. The host had injured her foot over the holidays and needed to get surgery. According to her Instagram page, the injury was related to “a torn plantar plate and ligament in [her] foot that’s been slowly getting worse and worse.” She credited Dr. O’Malley at HSS for operating on her.
Luckily, as of late February, the GMA star no longer needed the boot, thanks to ongoing physical therapy and her stoic attitude!
Lara Spencer Is a Dog Lover
If you glance at Spencer’s social media, you’ll see it’s full of cute doggy photos. The GMA star is always sharing adorable snaps of herself giving dogs hugs. She also helps dogs find new homes.
Spencer has three dogs, Riva, Coco, and Dandy, and she calls them her children.
“I say I have five kids. 3 are just a little hairier than the oldest 2,” she wrote on social media (via Hello!). “My fur babies were all adopted [through] the most incredible rescue organization — North Shore Animal League America.”
In March, Spencer shared a photo of a dog named Gunner, who was rescued from a kill shelter.
“This gorgeous boy needs a home. 2 years old. He was on doggie death row at a TX kill shelter but is now safe with my friend in Connecticut,” she wrote. “Do you want a loving best friend to keep you company? THIS is your guy.”
Spencer listed his training and attributes but admitted that her house was already too full to take a fourth dog.
“LETS FIND GUNNER A HOME,” she wrote, tagging her friend’s Instagram handle.
That’s some dedicated love and humanity. Bless Lara Spencer’s heart.
