For a feel good morning show, Live! With Kelly and Michael has gotten pretty tumultuous behind the scenes over the last few days. When the announcement that Michael Strahan would leave the show to take on full time duties at Good Morning America came in, his co-host Kelly Ripa did not respond very well at all. Everyone’s now wondering if the two will ever host their show together again, and right now it’s not looking very likely.
While many would assume that this fracas would get swept under the rug so that the two hosts would work together until Strahan leaves in the fall, a source spoke to People about Rip and Strahan's rift, and now it seems that they won’t work together any time soon.
I don't believe that co-hosting together is a viable option anymore. Anything is possible, but that doesn't seem like a viable option. Practically, it's a different dynamic now.
Upon learning the news that her co-host would be departing from their morning show for greener pastures at Good Morning America, Kelly Ripa opted not to show up to work on Wednesday. Citing feelings of betrayal, Ripa has pretty much gone dark; it’s looking like she won’t return to the show until this coming Tuesday at the very earliest, but even that seems up in the air. At this point, it remains unclear when exactly she intends to return to the show, and the longer she waits to come back, the worse the situation gets for the network as a whole.
It’s something of an unprecedented situation for the folks at ABC, at least on this show, and her continued silence could eventually spell disaster for the long-lasting chat show. The folks over at Live! With Kelly and Michael have begun scrambling to try and fill her place in order to keep the ship afloat. opting to bring in guests hosts to fill Ripa’s place for the time being while Michael Strahan continues his hosting duties as usual. The sources who spoke to People seem to have indicated that Strahan himself has reached out to Ripa in order to try and bring about an expedited resolution to this professional conflict, but Ripa remains steadfast in her refusal to speak about the situation too soon.
Of course, it seems like the feelings of betrayal extend beyond just Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan. Recent news seems to also indicate that ABC may potentially be interested in dropping Live! With Kelly and Michael in order to simply add another hour of Good Morning America to its schedule. With that news in mind – as well as the fact that ABC seems to be making concessions for Strahan, and not Ripa - it becomes somewhat easier to sympathize with Kelly Ripa’s side of the argument.
For now, we will just have to wait and see what happens. Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan have been partners on their mornings show for the last four years, and that’s not something easily walked away from. One thing is certain: things don't look good for Live! With Kelly and Michael.
