Lara Spencer is set to make her CMA Fest hosting debut on June 25, 2026, cohosting the ABC broadcast with Riley Green. The booking gives the longtime Good Morning America personality a new prime entertainment assignment, this time on a stage tied to one of country music’s biggest annual events.
The appearance matters because Spencer is not new to live television. She joined Good Morning America as a correspondent in 1999 and is now one of the program’s coanchors and lifestyle reporters, a job that has kept her in front of viewers for nearly three decades. A hosting slot on CMA Fest 2026 extends that on-air run into a different lane, one that leans more on event hosting than morning-news rhythm.
For Spencer, the date also lands at a moment when her personal life remains part of her public story. She has been married twice. Her first husband was David Haffenreffer, a former reporter who later moved into real estate, and the two were married for 15 years, from 2000 to 2015. They said at the time that the decision to end their marriage came after a lot of thought, care and consideration, even as they stressed that they respected and loved each other and their children.
That family thread has stayed visible in the years since. Spencer shares Duff, born in 2002, and Kate, born in 2004, with Haffenreffer, and Duff walked her down the aisle when she married Rick McVey in September 2018. McVey, the founder of MarketAxess, was introduced to Spencer in 2016, got engaged two years later and has three children from a previous relationship; the couple do not have children together.
McVey’s own career helps explain why he has remained in the public eye alongside Spencer. He cofounded MarketAxess in 2000 after seven years at J.P. Morgan, led the company as chairman and chief executive officer until April 2023 and retired as executive chairman in December 2024. He has also focused on philanthropy, including a $20 million gift to The University of Miami.
The open question now is how much of the CMA Fest broadcast Spencer will shape beyond the cohosting chair. For viewers, the important part is already fixed: on June 25, 2026, she will step into a new live event role on ABC, with Riley Green beside her.
