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Willie Geist is sharing his complicated emotions after dropping his daughter Lucie off at collegeThe journalist said he thought he’d be more emotional, but he ended up feeling happy for his daughterGeist shares Lucie and his son George with wife Christina Geist
Willie Geist had some complicated emotions after dropping his daughter off at college.
The journalist, 50, appeared on a Tuesday, Sept. 2 episode of Today with Jenna & Friends and shared that he recently moved in his daughter Lucie, 18, for her freshman year of college. Geist went on to say that while he’d anticipated the experience to be very emotional, he ended up feeling very happy for his daughter.
“About two and a half weeks ago, I dropped my daughter Lucie off at college, which was a moment. Here’s my headline: It’s gone much better than we thought it would,” Geist began.
“And the reason it’s gone much better than we thought it would — of course, it was sad in the moment when we said goodbye, but because she is so happy and we realized she is so ready,” he continued. “And you realize all that you’ve poured into this person for 18 years is now paying off, and she can handle herself. And she’s happy and she’s good.”
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Geist said that while their hug with their daughter was “a little teary,” it was all in all a beautiful moment for their family.
“A mutual friend of ours once told me when you drop them off at college, if they don’t look back, you’ve done it right,” Geist said. “And so she asked away and maybe gave a little [look back] but then she just kind of hopped up the stairs and went on to this new chapter. And she’s doing great. So it was beautiful.”
Geist shares his daughter and son George with wife Christina Geist.
Back in February 2024, Geist shared another major milestone he’d gone through with his teenage daughter. On an episode of Today, Geist shared that his then 16-year-old daughter Lucie got her driver’s license. As he watched her driving for the first time, Geist admitted that he got a little emotional about the passing of time.
“She’s a good kid with a driver’s license now,” the proud dad said. “She just got her driver’s license. That’s a big moment as many of you parents out there know.”
Calling his daughter a “good” and “responsible” driver, Geist noted that he wasn’t nervous for Lucie to be on the road “because I know her, and I know how careful she is and conscientious.”
Geist admitted that the hardest part of the special moment was watching his daughter drive away for the first time.
“She pulled away. She’s driving in front of me and Christina and it was a little emo,” he said. “The first thought I had was, I taught her how to ride a bike in Riverside Park in New York, you stand behind her, you hold the seat.”
“And you watch her kind of go away on her own,” Geist recalled. “And she turns back and goes, ‘Oh, Dad’s not holding the seat anymore, I did it.’ And I had the same feeling.”