“I’d stand in front of her so she wouldn’t get wet”: Kelly Ripa Hypnotized Ryan Seacrest to Become Her Greatest Ally After Michael Strahan Betrayal
It has been a rollercoaster ride for Kelly Ripa as a daytime talk show host since she joined Live! in 2001. As a replacement for Kathy Lee Gifford, who left Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee, after 12 years as co-host of the show, Kelly Ripa began co-hosting Live! with America’s most famous face Regis Philbin in 2001. Following Regis Philbin’s departure from the show, Kelly Ripa co-hosted with Michael Strahan and then Ryan Seacrest.
Kelly Ripa faced a significant setback when Michael Strahan departed Live! to join Good Morning America without informing her in advance. In May 2017, Ryan Seacrest began hosting Live! with Kelly and Ryan as a permanent co-host. After Ryan Seacrest joined the show, Kelly Ripa explained during an interview with The New York Times how her friendship with him differs from her relationships with former co-hosts. During the show, she didn’t feel the same vibes with Regis Philbin and Michael Strahan as she did with her third co-host.
Kelly Ripa And Ryan Seacrest Great Bonding As A Co-Host
America’s favorite hosts, Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest have been co-hosting Live! with Kelly and Ryan since May 2017. She found common ground with her third co-host Seacrest after facing many difficulties with her former co-hosts. During an old interview with The New York Times in 2017, Ripa expressed honest emotions about her friendship with Ryan Seacrest, and she said she never felt that bonding with her former co-hosts.
Ripa said in the interview,
“Regis had a mandate: Absolutely no talking off-camera. He had almost a superstition about it. You save it for the show. I’d be like, ‘Good morning,’ and he’d say, ‘Save it for the air!'”
But on the other hand, Ripa considered,
“Seacrest is the future of the franchise and the future of ABC.”
Kelly Ripa also revealed that she was not as close with Philbin and Strahan as Seacrest on the show. However, she also said she texted and hung out with Seacrest outside the talk show.
In 2022, Ripa recalled her early days on Live! In her book Live Wire: Long-Winded Short Stories, she mentioned that writing the chapter about Regis Philbin was the most challenging. Also, because she felt betrayed by her second co-host Michael Strahan’s announcement that he would join Good Morning America, she took a break from the show in 2016.
Michael Strahan And Kelly Ripa’s Complex Relationship On Live!
A 2020 interview with The New York Times revealed that Michael Strahan, 51, described working with Kelly Ripa, 52, as an “experience” through which they could overcome problems. Having been blindsided by Michael Strahan’s decision to leave the show for a full-time gig at Good Morning America, Ripa struggled.
As soon as she learned of Strahan’s departure and promotion, she became furious. For almost four years, Strahan and Ripa hosted Live! With Kelly and Michael together, which also became a memorable phase for both the host. According to reports, Ripa felt she was a sidekick for Philbin, just as Michael Strahan felt the same way about Ripa.
Strahan said during the interview,
“on television, I’ve had jobs where I got there and felt like, ‘Wow, I didn’t know I was supposed to be a sidekick. I thought I was coming here to be a partner.”
Strahan found that it is more individualistic in the daytime television world than he expected, but he enjoyed learning from Ripa. On April 19, 2016, Strahan announced that he had left Live! With Kelly and Michael to join Good Morning America, which came as a shocker for Ripa. That was a challenging phase of Ripa’s career as she was left blindsided by the news.
Source: The New York Times
