Report: Kelly Ripa Skipped Today’s Live After Feeling ‘Blindsided’ by Strahan Departure

This morning’s Live With Kelly and Michael on ABC was the first episode since cohost and NFL Hall of Famer Michael Strahan announced he would be leaving this year to pursue a full-gig with the network’s morning show GMA. Unfortunately for him, his cohost of four years Kelly Ripa was absent from Wednesday’s broadcast, in a move that ET has reported was not planned.

In her place was Ana Gesteyer, and Strahan opened the show addressing the “bit of news” he made in the last day. The fan-favorite host joked that after seeing all of the headlines since his announcement that he, “thought he had died.”

“I can’t ask for better fans,” Strahan told the ABC audience Wednesday. “I consider myself to be a part of this family forever,” he said, mentioning he would still be available for guest-hosting gigs in the future. His move to GMA is planned for September.

According to ET this morning, Ripa was never supposed to have the day off:

A source close to Live tells ET that Ripa was not planning to take Wednesday off, but was “blindsided” by the news that Strahan was leaving. According to the source, Ripa may also take the rest of the week off.

Ripa has sat in the Live cohosting chair since 2001 when she began her tenure with the show opposite icon Regis Philbin.

Watch the above video of Strahan’s opening from Wednesday’s show from ABC.
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[image via screengrab]