Lara Spencer Marks Major Family Milestone

Good Morning America co-anchor Lara Spencer marked a major family milestone on Friday. She dropped her eldest child, son Duff Haffenreffer, off at college. He is studying at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Spencer, 52, and her first husband, journalist David Heffenreffer, are also parents to daughter Kate.

“A very special photo collage to celebrate a major milestone for my first-born child. *Pls note-Not allowed to show many shots per my kid’s request, but these are approved,” Spencer wrote alongside the photos from Dallas. The first picture showed Dudd and Spencer after they had a family dinner to celebrate his first day. Next, she included a photo of the SMU campus, then a picture of his dorm room. She also shared a photo of him playing a pickup basketball game and one last picture of him taken before they said goodbye. “Yes there were tears, but also such pride and happiness seeing HIM so happy and knowing he is now part of such an incredible community,” Spencer wrote.


Many of Spencer’s famous friends showed their support in response to the pictures. “All these mommas dropping their firstborns at college has me… Sending you hugs,” Paula Faris wrote. “Yeah!!!!!! He’s going to love it and do so great. Bummed I don’t get him in California though. Huge CONGRATS to Duff,” Access journalist Kit Hoover wrote. Spencer’s GMA colleague Amy Robach commented with three heart emojis.

Spencer no longer appears on GMA every day since she is focusing on her television production projects. One of those is HGTV’s Everything But The House, which debuted in March. In the show, Spencer and a team of appraisers helped homeowners find hidden treasures they already own to be auctioned off.

In an interview with PopCulture, she said she hoped viewers are inspired to do their own treasure hunts at home. “That’s my dream is that people finish watching an episode and then go on a treasure hunt in their own homes,” Spencer said. “I just giggle thinking about that, and I love the idea that we might be able to help people find stacks of cash while getting rid of their clutter. I mean, how great would that be?”

Spencer also hosted Flea Market Flip for HGTV, but a new episode has not aired since 2019. There are no plans to return to the show, with Spencer focusing on other projects and the coronavirus pandemic forcing some flea markets to remain closed. “I pray that we will be back in some form before you know it, but right now, the show format doesn’t work in the world that we’re living in,” she told PopCulture. “So I am diving headfirst into Everything But the House literally with my sleeves rolled up as I dig into your basements and attics and hopefully find treasures in the most unlikely places.”

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