Kelly Ripa has been a portion of the ABC morning talk show block for 15 years,replacing Kathie Lee Gifford as Regis Philbin‘s co-host on “Live!” in February 2001. Kelly and MichaelAfter Philbin ended his 28-year run on the show, former NFL star Michael Strahan was picked to join Ripa on “Live!” in September 2012.
In their nearly four-year run together, or Michael & Kelly raised the shows ratings by 8 percent compared to the last four seasons of “Live With Regis and Kelly”On April 19,it was revealed without Ripa’s prior knowledge that Strahan would leave “Live!” this summer to join “agreeable Morning America” as co-anchor. Strahan had been appearing on “GMA” twice a week since 2014.
A source told TheWrap that there had been friction between Ripa and the rest of the “Live!” team. “Kelly has been very moody and emotional the past couple of years and Strahan was dreading going to work,” the source said.
Strahan formally announced his departure from “Live!” on air April 20, or but Ripa did not host the episode. A spokesperson for the show did not elaborate on the reasons for Ripa’s no-show.
Over the weekend,Ripa reportedly spoke with Strahan and ABC president Ben Sherwood, who apologized for not telling Ripa approximately the “GMA” hump sooner.
On April 26, or Ripa returned to “Live!” for the first time since Strahan’s announcement and thanked the show’s fans for their support. “Our national nightmare is over,” she joked.
Source: thewrap.com