What To Know
- Good Morning America‘s Lara Spencer recently hung out with Today‘s Jenna Bush Hager.
- Spencer shared snaps from their mahjong group’s game night via social media.
- Spencer and Bush Hager are just two of the morning show hosts who are friends off the small screen.
Two of morning TV’s biggest stars share a sweet off-screen connection.
Good Morning America‘s Lara Spencer took to her Instagram Story on Tuesday, May 19, to share photos from a recent hangout with friends, during which they played mahjong together. “Reason 5 to play,” she captioned a group photo from the game night. “Mahj brings people together.”
Spotted among the group of friends was a familiar face. In another Instagram Story, Spencer shared that she played multiple games of mahjong against Today‘s Jenna Bush Hager.
“Yes we know you won 3 times @jennabhager,” she captioned a snap of Bush Hager holding up her winning tiles and making a No. 3 with her fingers.
Spencer and Bush Hager are not the only GMA and Today hosts who are friends. For starters, Today‘s Al Roker is married to ABC News’ Deborah Roberts, who frequently appears on GMA.
Hosts from both shows got together to celebrate Roberts’ latest book, Sisters Loved and Treasured: Stories of Unbreakable Bonds, back in October 2025. “Thrilled to celebrate @debrobertsabc latest future best seller on the power of sisterhood!!” Savannah Guthrie captioned Instagram photos from the book event at the time, including one of herself and Roberts with GMA‘s Robin Roberts. “Sisters Loved and Treasured in stores now!
Courtesy of Lara Spencer/Instagram
Robin was one of several GMA stars who voiced support for Savannah following news of her mother Nancy Guthrie‘s disappearance in February. Like Robin, GMA‘s Ginger Zee, Sam Champion, George Stephanopoulos, and Michael Strahan previously shared information about Nancy’s alleged abductor and police contact information via their social media pages.
Fans of both morning shows know that mahjong is a hobby that Spencer and Bush Hager share, as they have both shared their love for the game on their respective series.
“This is a game that I’ve become obsessed with. I have a group of women I love,” Spencer said while introducing a segment about mahjong during a June 2024 episode of GMA. “We meet once a week to play. But like so many, we were intimidated by all the tiles, the card, all the numbers. But with a lesson or a little online instruction, it’s easy to learn and so fun. So, are you ready to get your mahj-on?”
After the segment, she added, “It’s complicated, but so fun.”
Bush Hager, meanwhile, dove into the popularity of mahjong with Savannah during an August 2025 Today segment. “We play all the time,” Bush Hager stated after the segment, while Savannah added, “We play together whenever we can. We make whole dates together.”
Courtesy of Lara Spencer/Instagram
Bush Hager continued, “It’s our new addiction, and it’s a good one. It’s good for your brain. I’ve made friends in a little town I didn’t have any friends in, so that’s good.”
Bush Hager previously popped up on Spencer’s Instagram feed in July 2025 when she shared photos of their mahjong group playing in a pool while using a floating board. “Aqua-mahj!!!!! Thanks Kate!!! Still laughing at the scene,” she captioned the upload. “Shout out to my daughter’s friend Trip Williams for hand-making us floating tiles and suggesting paint stirrers as pushers! Now we just need to figure out how to deal with the pruning!!!”
Good Morning America, Weekdays, 7am, ABC
Today, Weekdays, 7am, NBC