'Will miss my work wife': Ryan Seacrest quits 'Live', will be replaced by Kelly Ripa's husband Mark Consuelos
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: Ryan Seacrest has announced his decision to leave the popular ABC daytime show 'Live with Kelly and Ryan'. The radio and TV host wishes to move to Los Angeles, which prompted him to quit the show. “This is something that [Kelly] and I have been talking about for a long time, and it was a tough, tough decision,” said Seacrest.
“Last year we spoke, and I made the decision to make this my last season as co-host,” he added. The ‘American Idol’ host will be replaced by Ripa’s husband Mark Consuelos, who had often played the guest co-host for the show. The top-rated show will now be called ‘Live with Kelly and Mark'. Ripa, who has been with the ‘Live’ for over a decade now, reacted, “The only person I can think of that is capable of holding [Ryan’s] torch the way [he has] held it would be my husband, Mark Consuelos.”
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'Looking forward to coming back to guest host'
The 48-year-old host, who joined the show back in 2017 on a 3-year contract, lauded his co-host Ripa in an Instagram post. “I’m going to miss my work wife and all the laughter we share. 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.” In a long post, in which Seacrest shared multiple photographs with Ripa during his time on ‘Live’, he added, “I’m looking forward to coming back to guest host in the future and Kelly, I promise to forever share my food photos, chicken eggs, and olive oil with you. And congratulations to my brother Mark, feel free to remodel my dressing room!”
'Goodbyes are never easy'
The show’s long-serving executive producer Michael Gelman appreciated Seacrest's work ethic and his time on the show. “Goodbyes are never easy, but we look forward to welcoming Ryan back regularly with open arms,” he said during his on-air tribute, as per New York Post. The ‘Live’ show has been successfully running since 1988, and the first co-hosts were Regis Philbin and Kathie-Lee Gifford. After Gifford left the show in 2000, Kelly Ripa joined Philbin as co-host in 2001, and the show was rebranded as ‘Live with Regis and Kelly.”