Ryan Seacrest Rumored to Be Exiting 'Live With Kelly and Ryan,' But Here's the Truth
Ryan Seacrest and Kelly Ripa have been working together almost every morning since 2017, and they sure look happy when the cameras are rolling. They've even appeared in each other's projects, with Seacrest guest-starring in the first episode of Ripa's Generation Gap gameshow and Ripa making appearances on Seacrest's radio show. But a National Enquirer report claimed there was a growing rift that will lead to Seacrest leaving Live with Kelly and Ryan. There's no sign that would really happen.
Earlier this month, a handful of fans suggested Ripa was being disrespectful to Seacrest on air. They shared their thoughts in one of Seacrest's Instagram posts. "You need to tell Kelly to stop interrupting you. That's very rude," one person told Seacrest. "She does it throughout the show ... every show. Very annoying. She is a boring host," another person wrote.
Although this all seemed to just be the opinion of a few Instagram users, the National Enquirer recently snowballed it into a story about how Seacrest is ready to leave. "Ryan has been deferential to Kelly for years," an insider told the tabloid. "But he's a powerful television figure himself, having launched the Kardashians and other shows. He's ready to walk if she doesn't show him more respect!" The National Enquirer has run many stories trying to knock Seacrest down a peg in the past, and there's no reason to believe this one, notes Gossip Cop.
Seacrest joined Ripa on Live in 2017, following Michael Strahan's exit. Ripa has been co-hosting Live since 2001 after Kathie Lee Gifford stepped down. The show launched with Gifford and the late Regis Philbin in 1988, although Phiblin began hosting an earlier incarnation in New York in 1983. If Ripa really was considered "boring" by more than just a few Instagram users, she probably wouldn't be hosting the show for over two decades, including five years with Seacrest.
Ripa's friendship with Seacrest has popped up outside the Live studio. Earlier this month, Seacrest appeared on Ripa's new ABC gameshow Generation Gap. During Ripa's stop on Seacrest's On Air radio show, the two joked about Seacrest making a mistake that forced producers to shut the show down for 45 minutes. Ripa and Seacrest also often broach subjects about their personal lives on Live. In April, Seacrest talked about Ripa and her husband Mark Consuelos meeting his girlfriend, Aubrey Paige, for the first time at Consuelos' birthday party. Ripa made it clear she approves of Paige, calling her the "most exciting guest" at the party.