By Jenni McKnight
Copyright hellomagazine
George Stephanopoulos caused a disturbance on Good Morning America on Thursday, leading his co-host, Lara Spencer, to ask him if he was “ok.” Lara was in the middle of discussing Seth Rogen reviving The Muppet Show as a Disney+ special starring Sabrina Carpenter, when George’s cell phone suddenly started ringing loudly beside her. Not missing a beat, Lara quipped: “Hold on, let me get that. It’s not Seth Rogen on the phone,” before continuing with her report. Once she had finished and expressed her excitement for the Disney+ revival, co-host Robin Roberts couldn’t resist turning the conversation to George. “I’m excited that you have an old-fashioned ring to your phone,” she joked.
After Robin, Lara, and Michael Strahan started laughing at George’s ringtone, Lara held out her hand to George and asked, “Is everything ok?” to which he replied: “Everything’s fine.” While he didn’t share any information on who was calling or why, Lara responded: “Ok, good, just checking.”
The call may have been from George’s wife, Ali Wentworth, as the couple has had their hands full with their newest family member, a golden retriever puppy named Fig. George and Ali welcomed Fig into their family home after the death of their beloved dog Cooper, who passed away in May. They introduced Fig on GMA on July 2, revealing they received help picking their dog through 1 Love 4 Animals, a female-founded nonprofit animal rescue and advocacy organization.
“We adopted her last night,” Ali, 60, said. “If she wasn’t adopted, she probably would have spent her life in a cage as a breeder – and I know what that feels like! She is really sweet. She was covered in ticks and fleas, but not anymore. And we really wanted to adopt another dog. I wanted a boy because we have two daughters, and yet this little girl just caught my eye. I looked at this little girl and she was like, ‘Hi! I might be cuter than everybody in this family!’ And she just came up to me.”
In a separate chat with Sam Champion, Ali admitted that she was craving to be a mom again. “I’m very ready to be a parent again. I’m only 30!” she joked. “We recently lost our dog and I’m a big adopter. George and I have been slowly thinking about it. And then…surprise I got pregnant!”
The couple paid tribute to Coop following his death. Taking to Instagram, Ali penned: “I lost my longtime companion. The greatest dog and integral part of our family. He once swam after a giant Elk in a pond. Ate a whole bottle of melatonin and felt nothing. Always devoured all the candy in our Christmas stockings. Slept at the foot of our bed and dreamt running in place.
“He loved every species. Especially humans. Kissed and cuddled everyone that came through our door. Cooper was unconditionally adored by all.” She concluded: “I will miss him with all my heart. See you on the other side, Coop! We still have many squirrels to chase….”
