Kelly Ripa is outraged that Michael Strahan moved to Good Morning America without anyone telling her in advance. In fact Ripa is so upset she skipped work and went MIA this morning and didn’t show up for ‘Live! With Kelly and Michael.’ Sources are reporting that Kelly Ripa is so furious at being blindsided by ABC and her co-host that she is seriously considering quitting Live and retiring.
People says Kelly is feeling ‘hurt and betrayed and on so many levels’ – especially by Michael Strahan, who didn’t have the common courtesy to inform his co-host that he was entertaining a massive offer from ABC to move to GMA. Not only did Kelly not show up for her show this morning, but reports are that she is taking the rest of the week off and no longer wishes to work with Michael. Can you blame her?
Michael Strahan, a retired American football defensive end who is currently a football analyst on Fox NFL Sunday, and serves as co-host on the syndicated morning talk show “Live! With Kelly and Michael,” recently dropped a bomb on his co-host Kelly Ripa.
Following their show Tuesday, Strahan, for the first time informed Ripa that he was leaving their show, according to reports on TMZ.
According to sources associated with the production, Strahan, at 10:30 a.m., informed Kelly and Executive Producer, Michael Gelman that he was leaving “Live! With Kelly and Michael” for ABC morning television show, “Good Morning America.”
No prizes for guessing, Gelman and Kelly were “stunned and upset” at the news. Kelly, who will be losing her cohost is absolutely clueless about who she will be hosting the show with following Michael’s sudden exit.
But things don’t look too good for Kelly as the sources further revealed that there is actually no plan on replacing the retired NFL star, Michael Strahan.
Michael and Kelly got along really well and anyone watching the show could tell this. Their jovial chemistry was the highlight of the popular morning talk show. On February 12, this year, a special episode celebrated Ripa’s 15 years association with the program.
Though the sources didn’t divulge whether there’s any bitterness citing Michael’s without-warning exit from “Live”, he certainly is not leaving out of spite. The former NFL star noted in an official statement that his time on the show was “transformative” while his exit was “bittersweet.”
Michael was all praise as far as his cohost of four years was concerned.
“Kelly has been an unbelievable partner, and I am so thankful to her and the entire team,” Strahan wrote.
“I am extremely grateful for the amazing support I’ve received from all of the fans.”
Michael’s sudden exit had the biggest impact on his cohost, Kelly Ripa as this is the second occasion when she has been taken off guard.
Regis Philbin was fired from “Live With Regis & Kelly” back in January 2011, but he kept Kelly in the dark until 15 minutes just before they went live. Luckily for the show and Kelly, the former NFL star made an apt replacement for Regis following his shocking exit. But now, the big question is, who can replace Michael Strahan?
Who do you think should replace Michael Strahan on “Live” to cohost the show with Kelly Ripa? Will Kelly need replacing as well? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Kelly Ripa by FameFlynet
