Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest.Photo: ABC Entertainment
Seacrest, 48, isdepartingthe daytime talk show after six years co-hosting alongsideKelly Ripa. As he looks ahead to his final day, he acknowledges, “I’ll miss this team of people, we’ve gotten to know each other and become very, very close.”
“I’ve worked on a lot of different shows,” he continued in a chat withE! Newson Thursday, “it’s a unique environment here where many people have been here a long time, they’ve raised their kids whilst being on this show.”
“And I’ll miss being next to Kelly every single day,” Seacrest continued of Ripa, 52. “We’re extremely close, we’re very good friends and we’ll remain good friends, but it’s like there’s that hour of communicating with somebody. You become super excited about doing it, you laugh and then of course you can’t remember what you said to each other, so I’ll miss that part.”
Though Seacrest is handing over his chair to Ripa’s husbandMark Consuelos, 51, he said the door is open for him to return to the series “now and then.”
“Working alongside Kelly over the past six years has been a dream job and one of the highlights of my career,” he said in a statement about his exit from the show, which will be officially rebranded asLive with Kelly & Mark. “She has been an amazing partner, friend, and confidant, and although we will always be a part of each other’s lives, I will miss our mornings together.”
“I also want to thank [executive producer] Michael Gelman and the entire staff and crew — we’ve made memories to last a lifetime, met some of the most incredible people and had the warmest welcome into the homes of so many viewers across America,” he added. “It’s been a memorable ride and now I’m excited to pass the baton to Kelly’s ‘real’ husband, Mark.”
Hours after announcing his departure fromLive, Seacrestwished Consuelos wellwith a playful Instagram post.
“And congratulations to my brother Mark, feel free to remodel my dressing room!” he captioned the post, which featured a series of snapshots of himself and Ripa together.
“I’m going to miss my work wife and all the laughter we share,” he continued. “When I signed on to host Live in 2017 it was meant to be for 3 years, but I loved the job and working with Kelly so much that I extended my time and last year I made the decision to stay on for one more final season.”
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Live with Kelly & Ryanairs weekdays at 9 a.m. ET on ABC.
source: people.com
