For decades, this veteran newscaster and Good Morning America personality has been reporting
the headlines.
But she became one in 2019, when her commentary on Prince George's education sparked intense
global backlash.
But there's more to her story than a viral scandal.
This is the untold truth of Lara Spencer.
Spencer made quite the splash in 2017.
According to People magazine, the then 49-year-old GMA co-host was vacationing with family when
she shared a pic of herself on Instagram.
The response to her washboard abs was a mixture of amazement and confusion, but it turns out
Spencer has been in great shape for most of her adult life, thanks to having taken up
diving way back in high school.
She told Marie Claire,
"Looking back, I realize that putting yourself out there, literally, on the edge of the platform
is very similar to doing live TV.
It's taking the plunge and knowing, with lots of practice, it'll work out fine."
She went to Penn State on an athletic scholarship, where she was named an All-American Athlete,
graduating in 1991.
"And now it's officially retired.
The speedo.
"Oh, hang it up, baby."
"Hang it up!"
"You did great.
Awesome."
When Donald Trump was just a presidential candidate in 2015, Spencer sparked controversy
when she appeared to sit in his lap for a photo.
"I am officially running for president of the United States."
Trump was at ABC for an interview, and Spencer had worn a Trump costume for GMA's Halloween
show just a few days earlier, according to The Daily Beast.
When a GMA photographer spotted Spencer and Trump chatting, they snapped what would become
a highly controversial photo.
But Spencer claimed it wasn't what it looked like.
She posted on Instagram:
"Let's clear this up, I'm standing next to Donald Trump.
Said a quick hello and welcomed him to the GMA studio for [the] first time since he announced
his candidacy."
Network sources backed her account up, but many of Spencer's Instagram followers still
weren't impressed.
One user fumed,
"This guy disrespects women, does not apologize, and you welcome him with open arms.
That's what's wrong with America."
The Trump controversy was big in the U.S., but Spencer caused a ruckus on a global scale
in 2019 when she seemingly mocked Prince George on an episode of Good Morning America.
She and her co-hosts were discussing the curriculum that William and Kate's son was following,
poking fun at his ballet class.
She said,
"The future King of England will be putting down the Play-Doh to take on religious studies,
computer programming, poetry, and ballet."
After pausing for an audience response, she added,
"Prince William says, 'George absolutely loves ballet.'
I have news for you Prince William: We'll see how long that lasts."
She admitted that George might be into the dance classes, but said,
"Between the religious studies and the computer programming, I just want to go back to the
Play-Doh!"
Unsurprisingly, the backlash was swift.
The hashtag "Boys Dance Too" exploded on social media, according to Town & Country, with numerous
male dancers speaking up on behalf of the prince and criticizing Spencer.
So You Think You Can Dance choreographer, Travis Wall, said on Instagram,
"And I found these comments to be very upsetting.
Not only did you inspire your audience and colleagues to participate in the laughter,
you have now added fuel to the fire to a massive problem in this country, which is bullying."
A day later, Spencer apologized via Instagram.
Calling her own comments quote, "insensitive," she urged her followers to chase their dreams,
writing:
"From ballet to anything one wants to explore in life, I say GO FOR IT.
I fully believe we should all be free to pursue our passions.
Go climb your mountain and love every minute of it."
After even more heat for the comments, she followed up with a sincere, on-air apology
a few days later.
"I screwed up.
I did.
The comment I made about dance was insensitive, it was stupid, and I am deeply sorry."
Spencer may have already been walking on thin ice at ABC when she made those inflammatory
comments about Prince George.
In 2018, with the battle between Good Morning America and NBC's Today heating up, GMA reduced
Spencer's schedule from five days a week to just three.
Producers wanted to focus on the favored trio of Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos, and
Michael Strahan, according to PageSix.
A source claimed,
"Lara's good at her job, but it's not like the [ratings] are affected when she's not
on [the show.]"
According to Fox News, new publicity shots for ABC's flagship morning show featuring
only Roberts, Stephanopoulos, and Strahan, were rushed out.
In what another insider described as a quote "heartless" move by the network, one of these
new posters was plastered on a bus stop right outside ABC News' Upper West Side offices,
where Spencer would undoubtedly see it.
According to sources for Page Six, the majority of GMA staffers were quote "thrilled" when
they learned that Spencer's hours had been reduced.
An insider told the outlet,
"She treats staff badly, she yells at people and she makes a lot of extra work for people."
This was confirmed by an ABC source, who spoke to Fox News about the backstage reaction to
Spencer's new workload, alleging,
"The GMA people are thrilled she's being pushed out.
She's a bully and a blamer."
Fox News additionally claimed that Spencer is said to be a hard person to work with.
She reportedly quote, "screams at her producers daily," and allegedly doesn't always see eye
to eye with her co-hosts.
"I am very upset right now.
I did not need to learn that on TV."
One particular Good Morning America colleague that Spencer allegedly doesn't get along with
is Amy Robach.
According to reports, Spencer wasn't at all pleased when Robach took over from the departing
Josh Elliott, as news anchor.
Spencer was made a co-host just a few weeks later, as rumors of a rift between her and
Robach ran rife in the press.
TMZ offered,
"When Amy got promoted to news anchor apparently GMA felt it needed to up Lara's title to keep
her happy."
One GMA insider claimed via Radar Online,
"Among the gripes Amy has with Lara is that she shamelessly flirts with the male staff
and guests.
It's cringe-worthy, according to Amy, and she hates to see it."
But the alleged beef between Spencer and Robach is said to be about more than just flirting.
"I thought I was doing something philanthropic for others who might have cancer, never imagining
that I was sitting in this room with two malignant tumors."
Robach was forced to undergo a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer,
and she reportedly feels as though Spencer blew her off during her treatment.
A source told Radar Online,
"Lara never came to visit Amy in the hospital or even called her to see how she was doing."
Not only is Spencer a published author, she's done something that every writer dreams about,
twice.
The host released her second book, Flea Market Fabulous: Designing Gorgeous Rooms with Vintage
Treasures, to critical acclaim in 2014, telling Marie Claire,
"The new book made it on the New York Times bestseller list, as did my first, I Brake
for Yard Sales, in 2012.
I'm glad, because now I know I'm not crazy for loving vintage furniture so much.
Others are as addicted as I am."
"Everybody that knows me knows I kinda love taking diamonds in the rough and refurbishing
them, whether it's a great find from a flea market or a family heirloom."
Spencer has thrifting in her blood.
According to HGTV, she spent a good chunk of her childhood frequenting secondhand shops,
yard sales, and auctions with her family.
Over the years, she became a pro at spotting a bargain, though she insists that her ability
to find a great deal isn't the reason she loves flea markets so much.
"It's like a treasure hunt.
Nothing I love more than upcycling and updating out of fashion furniture."
Spencer told the LA Times,
"It's not about the money.
It's about creating really fun, personal rooms that have loads of character and make you
smile."
When she's not co-hosting Good Morning America, Spencer still spends time in front of the
camera for her HGTV show, Flea Market Flip.
Spencer called the show her "passion project" during an interview with the New York Daily
News, saying of her love for refurbishing,
"I've been doing this for as long as I can remember.
So it was a natural leap [to do a show] in which you go to a flea market, find pieces
with great potential and fix them up."
A number of past contestants have spilled the beans on just how Flea Market Flip actually
works, and it's apparently not how it appears on screen.
According to former contestant Charlotte Smith, each team is given "helpers" to bring their
build to life, and sometimes it's these talented people that are really doing most of the work.
Negotiations between the teams and the sellers are also not as they seem.
Former contestant, Sarah Trop, revealed on her blog,
"They have to stop to have the people selling at the flea [market] sign waivers saying they
would be on TV.
[They] stop to film from different angles and have us explain why we bought what we
did."
Spencer may come across a little blunt with some of her opinions, but she's far from heavy-handed
when it comes to her makeup.
According to Good Housekeeping, the GMA co-host wears quote, "almost-always flawless makeup
every time she steps in front of the cameras."
Yet, this fact didn't go unnoticed by one savvy online scammer, who decided to use Spencer's
name and image to promote a fake skincare brand.
When the TV presenter caught wind of this, she took to Instagram to warn her fans about
the ads and the bogus products they were peddling, writing,
"I did not give permission for my name or likeness to be used in any way and I have
no affiliation with these products.
We are going to work with authorities to identify the operators of these online fraud sites,
but I would love everyone's help in spreading the word!"
Spencer isn't the only HGTV star whose image has been falsely represented, Fixer Upper's
Joanna Gaines was also exploited by scammers, who circulated fake information about the
designer quitting her super popular show to start her own beauty line.
Spencer was praised for her athletic body in 2017, but she also knows what it's like
to be targeted by online trolls.
In 2018, she posted a picture of her Emmys outfit on Instagram, and the response was
shocking.
The HGTV star was cruelly body shamed by bullies telling her that she shouldn't expose her
legs at her age.
One user wrote,
"I feel embarrassed for you.
Can you not see that you do not have 'young' legs?
#SaggyKnees."
Another so-called fan even dragged her kids into it, writing,
"Love you, watch you every day, but you're a mom.
What the hell with that outfit?
That would've embarrassed my children."
"I was like, 'No!
I'm 27.'
In my head I'm 27."
Age is an especially touchy subject for Spencer, who needed a hip replacement before she turned
50 due to a hip dysplasia diagnosis, after years of enjoying sports.
"Three weeks, two days, post hip replacement."
She told People magazine,
"I felt there was a stigma attached to a hip replacement, and I didn't know if I would
be the same.
I went into this abyss of, 'What am I going to say to people and my kids?'…But this
isn't an old person's problem, it's an active person's problem."
Nobody could deny that Spencer looked stunning when she married tech entrepreneur Rick McVey
in 2018.
Judging by Instagram, Spencer and McVey are absolutely loved up.
But what exactly went wrong between Spencer and her ex husband, David Haffenreffer?
The couple said in a joint statement in 2015, via Page Six,
"After a lot of thought, care and consideration, we have decided to end our marriage.
It's a sad decision that did not come easily, especially because we respect and love each
other and our children."
It all sounded amicable, but sources close to the couple claim their 15 year relationship
was more than strained by the end.
An insider told Radar Online,
"Even though David comes from old money, Lara earned significantly more.
She wore the pants in the relationship."
The source claimed Spencer never got along with her ex's parents, but got along a little
too well with other men, adding,
"Lara's flirting just wore on the marriage as time went by."
"When you see something great, snap it up."
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