Showing them how it is done. Ryan Seacrest and Kelly Ripa have built a strong friendship after working together on-air over the years.
Viewers originally enjoyed watching the duo’s easy onscreen rapport when Seacrest occasionally guest hosted alongside Ripa when she took over for Kathie Lee Gifford in 2001. Following more than a decade of friendship, the soap opera actress confirmed that Seacrest would be joining her as cohost of Live With Kelly and Ryan in 2017.
“It is such a pleasure to be with you every morning,” the Georgia native told Ripa as they celebrated the news during a taping. “This is going to be the most fun I’ve ever had, so thank you.”
In response, Ripa added, “Thank you for uprooting your life and sacrificing so much to be with us, we really appreciate it. Welcome to the family. You fit right in.”
As the pair continued to work together, the Hope & Faith alum offered a glimpse at their dynamic when cameras aren’t rolling.
“What’s interesting is we usually text each other 15 times before the show. Yet we still have things to say on the air, which is weird,” Ripa explained to Entertainment Tonight in 2020. “It’s a weird codependency. We’re happy to have our psychiatric episodes unfold before everyone on live TV.”
At the time, the American Idol host gushed over the time he got to spend with Ripa. “To work with this amazing individual is an incredible thing,” he added. “I learned so much from her, not just [about] being on the air but about life. I mean she’s a remarkable colleague, the most amazing mother and wife and I get to see all sides of that.”
The All My Children alum later praised Seacrest for his ability to stay grounded and humble amid his success.
“He’s not spoiled, the way a lot of people get spoiled really, when they get their fancy job — and by fancy, I mean like, you know, a show-business job,” she shared with ET in November 2022. “Ryan has not been jaded or made cynical by a job that often makes people cynical or jaded immediately.”
She added: “We’ve known each other a really long time. He’s the kid brother I never had. So, we’ve known each other, and we trust each other, and we respect each other. We have a really unique off-camera friendship — which doesn’t happen very often. So we had that going in.”
In February 2023, the twosome surprised viewers when the radio host announced his departure after six years. Seacrest will be replaced by Ripa’s husband, Mark Consuelos.
“I can’t thank you enough [Ryan] on all of our behalf,” she said during a live taping of their show. “There is nobody else like you. There is nobody who can really do what you do. I know you in real life as well as TV life. I say this about very few people: what you see is what you get. This is not an act, this is a good man. I am so endlessly impressed by you.”
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