It's a bittersweet day in the Stephanopoulos household as the youngest in the family, 18-year-old Harper, has left the nest for college.
George Stephanopoulos and Ali Wentworth's second daughter is following in the footsteps of her older sister, Elliott, who will be starting her junior year at Brown University.
Harper, meanwhile, will be starting at Vanderbilt University, and Ali, 58, shared a photo of herself and George walking away after dropping her off, hand in hand.
Ali penned alongside the snap: "We dropped our baby off at college. Everyone is saying 'she's ready to launch'! But… I don't think I'm ready!
"I don't want to stop making pasta with vodka sauce, picking up wet towels, cuddling up to her familiar scent. As Joni Mitchell once wrote – 'the bed's too big, the frying pan too wide'."
She continued: "I know our daughter will thrive. But man, it's brutal on the parents. If you feel inclined – please send me baked goods. I'll be under my covers."
© InstagramOne of the first to comment was George's Good Morning America colleague Lara Spencer, who is dropping her own daughter, Katharine, off at Vanderbilt as well, and could easily relate to their new status as empty nesters.
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She commented: "I hear you sister. I am at the airport with a giant lump in my throat. I don't want to leave. It's going to feel too real. The house will be too quiet. The music won't be blaring. Her room will be neat. My clothes will not be missing. I don't like it one bit."
© InstagramTheir ABC colleague Deborah Roberts, who dropped off her son Nick at university last year with husband Al Roker, also responded with: "Awww. I know that feeling. Heart aches a bit. Takes time to adjust."
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Several other fans responded with their own words of encouragement, with one adding: "We raise them to be strong independent women with big wings ready to fly. It is incredibly hard on us when they fly!"
© InstagramAnother wrote: "You have a nice support human," and a third added: "You've done good mama. Watch your baby fly, that hurt will turn into smiles of joy as she shows you just how much she's learned. Sit back and revel in all that she will accomplish."
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Ever the comedian, though, Ali kept the mood on her Instagram light in the build up to her daughter's departure, taking to her Instagram Stories with a running gag chronicling their move to Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee.
© InstagramWith photos inside Harper's new dorm room, Ali highlighted herself putting together furniture while George was on his phone. "I assemble complicated furniture…he checks emails!" she wrote.
More snaps she posted captured the GMA anchor in various different scenarios still on his phone, while Ali wrote she gathered "important college supplies" and then the trash. She ended on a high, writing: "And done…oh you know what he's doing!"
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