Kelly Ripa Absent From ‘Live With Kelly and Ryan’, Replaced by Another Co-Host

Kelly Ripa was absent from Live with Kelly and Ryan for a second day Tuesday as her temporary replacement Maria Menounos co-hosted alongside Ryan Seacrest. Menounos’ first day sitting in for Ripa was Monday, as fans learned the entertainment reporter would be making an appearance on the show due to a behind-the-scenes video shared by producers that morning of the Chasing Maria Menounos star on set.

Later that day, she revealed she’d be in for Ripa for at least one more day. Showing off her plaid blazer and matching shorts on Instagram, Menounos wrote, “Hello beautiful weather! Hello NYC! Nice to see you back in action. [Live With Kelly and Ryan] was so fun today-if you watched-I reaaaaaally thought I was gonna guess right! My dad has two birthdays too! Anyway, fun day and more to come tomorrow when I fill in for the beautiful and talented #kellyripa again. See you tomorrow am!”

Tuesday, producers for Live showed another backstage clip of Menounos and Seacrest making their way to their seats on set with the caption, “[Maria Menounos] is back as guest co-host!” Fans of Live weighed in on the temporary hosting switch-up, with one person commenting, “Love Maria and Ryan as cohosts!” Another added, “Great show with Maria and Ryan, fresh energy much needed for the show. I started my work later just to watch her,” as a third wrote, “Just love her…she’s such a positive person!”

Ripa hasn’t disclosed how she’s spending her days off but could be spending spring break with husband Mark Conseuelos and their three kids, Michael, 23, Lola, 19 and Joaquin, 18. This isn’t Ripa’s first time taking a break from the show, previously leaving Seacrest with Ali Wentworth as a special guest co-host. Seacrest has also taken breaks from the show, leaving Ripa to host alone as well as with co-hosts like Anderson Cooper.

Ripa might even be taking some time with her family’s new puppy after adopting Lena, a Maltese/ Shih Tzu mix that was featured as an adoptable pet on Live‘s Happy Pets segment on March 8. “The Consueloses have made a decision to adopt Lena,” she told Seacrest during last week’s show, revealing that they first introduced the pup to their other rescue dog, Chewie, to make sure they were compatible. “My whole fear was that I didn’t want Chewie to feel replaced in any way,” Ripa shared, revealing that they quickly realized the dogs had bonded when they found Chewie outside Lena’s crate, “sitting next to her with their noses together.”