Over the years, Kelly Ripa has undergone quite a few changes when it comes to her Live co-hosts.
Though she initially began her career alongside the legendary Regis Philbin, who passed away
in July 2020 at the age of 88, she's been the most consistent part of the hit morning
talk show after it underwent many ups and downs. Who can forget the infamous drama that
took place on Live after host Michael Strahan blindsided Ripa with his departure in 2016?
At the time, Ripa — who was noticeably absent from the show for nearly a week after his
announcement — quote, "needed a couple of days to gather my thoughts" and "gain some
perspective (as per The Hollywood Reporter) before coming back and congratulating her
friend and fellow co-host on the new opportunity at Good Morning America.
On May 1st, 2017, it was announced that Ryan Seacrest would join Ripa as her new permanent
co-host, succeeding Strahan. Since then, the two have been inseparable, giving fans the
dynamic duo host vibes Live has become known for. But in December 2020, the American Idol
host was missing from the show — leading many to wonder what the heck is going on.
Ryan Seacrest missed his fourth straight Live With Kelly and Ryan episode during the week
of December 14th, 2020. He had previously missed two other episodes of the morning talk
show, with Bravo's Andy Cohen filling in for him. But for the December 16th and 17th episodes,
Anderson Cooper took over as Kelly Ripa's new co-host. In two behind-the-scenes videos
shared the official Live Instagram, Cooper can be seen heading out onto the stage with
Ripa. In one clip, someone from the crew says,
"You guys look great together."
...before Ripa introduces the journalist and CNN anchor to the backstage coffee crew as,
quote, "Anderson Cooper; national treasure, American hero." Then, in the second, Ripa
jokingly reiterates,
"This man is a national icon. Do you understand?"
It's clear the longtime Live host is a fan of Cooper as the two share a two-decade-long
friendship. In 2014, she told Vanity Fair,
"I'm in love with him. I've had a 20-year unrequited love affair with him."
She added that husband Mark Consuelos isn't jealous, though, as, quote, "he understands
that Anderson doesn't share my enthusiasm." Fans were equally happy to see Anderson take
over as co-host on the Live stage. One person wrote in the comments,
"Anderson Cooper is a gift to morning host chat. He needs a chair at the host desk!!"
And another added:
"I love when Anderson co-hosts! It's been a while!"
There's been a lot of speculation regarding Ryan Seacrest's absence from Live With Kelly
and Ryan, but it seems there's a perfectly good explanation as to why he's gone MIA for
the week of December 14th, 2020. According to his recent social media activity, he seemingly
took some time off from the morning talk show with Kelly Ripa to film episodes of American
Idol. He shared two photos via Instagram — one that shows him posing on a rooftop with the
American Idol logo on it and another of him sitting on a directors-style chair outside
a trailer as he scrolls through his phone. Seacrest captioned one of the shots,
"Working hard or hardly working?"
It's hardly uncommon for the hosts of Live With Kelly and Ryan to take time off. In early
December 2020, Ripa was absent from the show and replaced by Tamron Hall so she could reunite
and spend quality time with her husband, who's been away filming Riverdale in Vancouver,
Canada. In October 2020, Seacrest was forced to take a few days off from the show as he
awaited COVID-19 results. Ripa told the audience at the time,
"We have all of these new restrictions now, so this is one. We have to wait until he comes
back negative before he can get in here. It's public health. We take it seriously."
For years, there has been rumors that Ryan Seacrest wanted to quit Live With Kelly and
Ryan, with the National Enquirer reporting in 2018 that he was, quote, "on the verge
of quitting" because he was "fed up" with [Kelly] Ripa's "domineering diva-tude." However,
the American Idol host has made no indication that he plans to leave — with his rep even
telling Gossip Cop that the rumors of him quitting were, quote, "untrue." Ripa, for
her part, has not addressed the gossip.
Thankfully, it looks like fans don't need to worry about another Live shake-up. According
to the official Live With Kelly and Ryan website, Ryan Seacrest will be back on set Friday,
December 18th, 2020 to welcome guests Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, as well as take part
in Live's "Holiday Sweater Show" and virtually host the daytime talk show's annual "Sweater
Pageant." His return will likely be met with love and applause, as he and Ripa have become
one of daytime TV's favorite talk show co-hosts.
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