“When bad things happen, we are able to…. connect”: Kelly Ripa Called Ryan Seacrest Her “Baby Brother” Before Allegedly Mercilessly Kicking Him Out and Replacing Him With Husband Mark Consuelos on ‘Live’
Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest have incredible chemistry together on Live! with Kelly and Ryan. In reality, their friendship spans over 20 years, which is much longer than the duration of their current talk show. However, it is still being determined whether their bond will continue or not in the future after Ryan Seacrest announced he was leaving the show a couple of days ago. Those who begin their morning routines by listening to the talk show Live! have long been captivated by Kelly Ripa. During her time on it, the 52-year-old host witnessed several significant events, including the departure of her previous co-hosts. Now, Ryan Seacrest’s exit from the show has repeated the pattern once again.
While Kelly Ripa views the 48-year-old co-host as a kid brother, fans blasted her for stating that her husband, Mark Consuelos, is the only person who can hold the position on the talk show Live! Interestingly, the 52-year-old host has been hosting Live! for nearly 23 years, yet all her co-hosts have lasted only a decade at best. The alleged pattern of co-hosts leaving the show has drawn much attention because, this time, her husband is expected to appear as her co-host, which fans are calling a deliberate move.
Kelly Ripa And Ryan Seacrest Share A Close Bond
The 52-year-old host, Kelly Ripa has been hosting ABC’s morning talk show Live! With Kelly and Ryan since 2017, with Ryan Seacrest, who is imminently leaving the show after the season ends. During an interview with Gabrielle Bernstein on her Dear Gabby podcast, Ripa explained that she and Seacrest had a unique relationship off camera since they have known each other for over two decades. She always considers him like her baby brother.
Ripa told Gabrielle Bernstein during her podcast,
“What’s unique is that Ryan Seacrest and I have a 20-plus-year friendship. What’s unique is that Ryan Seacrest and I have a 20-plus-year friendship. We’ve known each other a really long time.”
She continued,
“He’s the kid brother I never had. So we’ve known each other, and we trust each other, and we respect each other. We have a really unique off-camera friendship … which doesn’t happen very often. So we had that going in.”
In addition to discussing their chemistry, Ripa also commented on their ability to read one another without saying too much. Ripa said,
“Certain events are so earth-shattering, and they feel so insurmountable. What is unique is that the two of us have, I don’t wanna say, a psychic ability, but we have a shorthand.”
“We have the ability to read each other in a way where I know where his breaking points are, and he knows where mine are. And so when bad things happen, we are able to — behind the scenes — connect and say, ‘It’s gonna be OK, I’ll take this one, I got it.”
For the unversed, a messy incident occurred between Ripa and Seacrest during a new game show called Generation Gap when the 48-year-old host took a day off. There was a 45-minute delay caused by a mistake made by Seacrest, who accidentally read an answer, which also caused a lot of hassle behind the scenes.
Mark Consuelos Reportedly Will Permanently Replace Ryan Seacrest On Live!
Ryan Seacrest’s announcement of his departure from Live! With Kelly and Ryan shocked his fans. But what shocked fans the most was the rumor that Kelly Ripa’s husband, Mark Consuelos, would replace him. Despite Ripa and Seacrest’s close relationship, fans criticized her for preferring her husband to be a co-host, which they see as deliberate planning.
Seacrest announced his exit from the talk show during the show’s taping on Feb 16, telling viewers,
“Working alongside Kelly over the past six years has been a dream job and one of the highlights of my career. She has been an amazing partner, friend, and confidant, and although we will always be a part of each other’s lives, I will miss our mornings together.”
Furthermore, he confirmed that Ripa’s husband, Mark Consuelos, will take over the position after him and said,
“It’s been a memorable ride, and now I’m excited to pass the baton to Kelly’s ‘real’ husband, Mark.”
The 48-year-old host also shared a statement on his Instagram post, writing,
“I’ll be transitioning out of Live this Spring to shoot the 21st season of American Idol in LA, continue my radio show on KIIS-FM and Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin Eve, and focus my summer on opening three more Ryan Seacrest Foundation Studios in pediatric hospitals across the country.”
He also wrote,
“I’m looking forward to coming back to guest host in the future, and Kelly, I promise to forever share my food photos, chicken eggs, and olive oil with you. And congratulations to my brother Mark, feel free to remodel my dressing room!”
According to reports, ABC has also long wanted Ripa and Consuelos to work together permanently on the show, and they are confident that it will increase ratings tremendously. It was difficult for Seacrest to leave the show, as has had long discussions on it with his co-host, Kelly Ripa. Despite saying goodbye to the show, the star announced he would return as a fill-in guest co-host on Live! from time to time.
Source: Dear Gabby Podcast
