Strahan seems prepared for a potentially awkward reunion with his co-host on 'Live! with Kelly and Michael'.
- Apr 26, 2016
AceShowbiz - Despite a potentially awkward reunion, Michael Strahan is eager for Kelly Ripa to return to their "Live!" show. "She's going to be back tomorrow, which we are all excited about," he said during a Monday episode where he co-hosted with "Pretty Little Liars" star Shay Mitchell.
Ripa felt blindsided by Strahan's decision to leave "Live! with Kelly and Michael" for "Good Morning America". She was reportedly livid, but Strahan chalked up her absence as "a scheduled day off to celebrate her 20th anniversary" with her husband, Mark Consuelos.
Ripa has been avoiding Strahan's calls but she will return Tuesday, April 26 after taking a nearly week-long leave from the show. "PLL" actress Mitchell, "Saturday Night Live" alum Ana Gasteyer, and FOX Sports correspondent Erin Andrews have filled in for her while she was away.
In an email to the show's staff, Ripa wrote, "I wanted to thank you all for giving me the time to process this new information." The petite TV host added, "Your kindness, support, and love has overwhelmed me. We are a family and I look forward to seeing you all on Tuesday morning."
After Oprah Winfrey, another fellow TV host Andy Cohen came to Ripa's defense. "When I look at this whole situation, it's worth noting that the two of them, Kelly and Michael, they had such great chemistry - such great chemistry. And I'm just looking at this - it just seems like a premature end to a great relationship. It ended way too prematurely, and I think so much has been written about this situation and how it was handled," he said on his SiriusXM radio show.
The Bravo star added, "The thing that no one is talking about is to me, the job of co-hosting Live is the greatest job in TV. And she's so good at it and he was so good at it, but it's a job that you take and you take it for life." He went on, "I can't get over that he left Live where it was the best show ... Live with Kelly and Michael - your name is in the freakin' title. You can spend your life here. You can spend 15 years here and make serious bank, by the way."
"He left and went to GMA. He's now with five people sitting at that crowded anchor desk. It's like 18 co-anchors. And here's my thing, what happens if the ratings don't go up? ... What is going to happen to [this] sweet man? By then she will have a new co-host. I don't know. I just don't see how you leave the greatest job in TV to be one of five people. That's what I couldn't get over ... You know who I think would be great at that job? My buddy AC, [Anderson] Cooper. He would be so good co-hosting that show."
