April will mark three years since Michael Strahan announced he was leaving the morning talk show Live with Kelly and Michael. Speaking out now, Strahan has revealed that he and Kelly Ripa are still not on good terms. While sharing what he learned from the experience surrounding his exit, Strahan said:
I learned through all that went down with that, you can’t convince people to like you. I haven’t spoken to her in a long time.
Michael Strahan revealed the status of his and Kelly Ripa’s relationship to Time. One slight silver lining is that Strahan says that he and Ripa have not spoken in a “long time.” So, there is no definitive time frame. Hence, it may not be too long. Just... not very recently.
The apparent issues between the pair stem from Michael Stahan’s 2016 exit from Live. That year, he received an offer from GMA to join the morning show in a full-time capacity, which he accepted. After the announcement, Kelly Ripa was absent from from Live for longer than initially expected, before eventually returning.
The ensuing drama made for lots of headlines. Later on, Kelly Ripa weighed in on why people were drawn to the morning show drama between her and Michael Stahan. At the time, she expressed the sentiment that people could identify with being “left out of major decisions” and “conversations.”
Whatever the origins of people’s fascination with the morning show shake-up, both Michael Strahan and Kelly Ripa have moved on. Strahan is going strong on GMA with ABC making him the co-host of the show’s third hour, alongside Sara Haines.
Michael Strahan co-hosted Live for almost 4 years, joining the show in September 2012 to replace Live’s original outgoing host Regis Philbin. After announcing his departure in April 2016, Strahan ended up leaving Live sooner than initially thought.
Following Michael Strahan’s exit, Live went on a vast search for his replacement. The show ultimately filled the co-host chair with Ryan Seacrest, leading to Live becoming Live with Kelly and Ryan.
For Live fans who enjoyed Michael Strahan and Kelly Ripa’s time as Live co-hosts, it is undoubtedly a sad update. The co-hosts seemed to have a great relationship before the drama unfolded. It is tough to imagine a duo being able to co-host a high-energy morning show without one.
They say that “time heals all wounds.” Perhaps it will be reaching the 3-year anniversary that could be the turning point for Michael Strahan and Kelly Ripa to open the lines of communication again. To have so many years of friendship culminate in them not having talked in a "long time" is sad.
Time will tell what the future holds between them. You can watch Michael Strahan weekday mornings on GMA starting 8 a.m. ET on ABC. You can watch Kelly Ripa on Live with Kelly and Ryan weekday mornings at 9 a.m. on ABC. Both will be airing new throughout the midseason.
