Kelly Ripa Embraces Gray Roots in Month-by-Month Photo Collage

Kelly Ripa is taking fans back to her roots, literally. On Instagram, Ripa engaged in the 2020 Calendar meme trend, which involves posting a photo of oneself from each month to showcase just how well (or poorly) the year is going for them. For the talk show host’s own 2020 Calendar, she gave fans a look at how she’s embracing her gray roots amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Ripa posted a photo of herself for every month from January up until September. At the start of the year, the TV personality’s locks were completely blond. But, as seen in February and March, her gray roots start to peek through. By July, Ripa’s gray roots are clearly visible, showing that she’s embracing the au natural look. In the caption for the post, she wrote, “Perhaps this meme is a week old at this point… but does that really compare to these roots? [laughing emoji] My version of the #2020Calendar is just…real….”

As Entertainment Tonight noted, Ripa has been vocal about embracing her natural hair on Live With Kelly and Ryan. “Grey hair has a different texture. Anyone with grey hair can tell you, it’s very wired. It tends to stand up,” she said. “These little clips, and you can see I’ve sprayed them brown too, these little clips really, like, hold the grey.” Ripa’s co-host Ryan Seacrest replied, “It looks blonde to me.” She then quipped, “That’s good. That’s excellent. It’s all part of my sinister plan to fool you.”

While Ripa is clearly embracing her natural self amidst this health crisis, she recently had to defend herself and Seacrest against viewers who criticized the hosts’ appearance on the talk show in May. “Certain things don’t matter any more and my appearance is one of those things that just don’t matter,” she said. “First of all, let me just say, to people commenting about our appearance, how dare you and you’re lucky that we actually put clothes on. It’s harder than you think to roll out of bed and come to a TV show.”

Ripa added that she would never host a show from bed despite the fact that they’re filming the show remotely. She said, “I keep telling myself, ‘You’re a professional and this is still a TV show and the day’s matter,’” and added, “It’s my mantra.”