Three years ago, Michael Strahan announced he was leaving his daytime talk show gig alongside co-host Kelly Ripa on “Live with Kelly and Michael” to move to a new job at ABC’s Good Morning America. News quickly spread that Kelly had been blindsided by the announcement and there was an immediate rift between the two, who once appeared to be pals on screen.
In a new interview with Time magazine, the former New York Giants defensive lineman shared that he and Kelly haven’t spoken “in a long time.”
It comes as a bit of a surprise as they once ruled the daytime chat scene with their fun chemistry and banter, earning them large ratings.
Michael accepted the Good Morning America co-hosting job in 2016 and it was rumored that Kelly didn’t have a clue what was going on and she was not happy with the way things played out.
Michael explained that their rift became headline news and, despite their relationship taking a hit back then, nothing has really been repaired. He explained: “I haven’t spoken to her in a long time.”
Michael was a co-host with Kelly on the show from 2012 to 2016 and had served as a GMA contributor as well, beginning in 2014.
When GMA offered him a full-time co-hosting position, he knew it was an incredible opportunity and accepted. He reportedly didn’t tell Kelly in advance however and she didn’t take it well, taking a nearly one-week leave, which ABC called a “pre-scheduled vacation,” the day after Michael’s announcement.
Upon her return, Kelly seemed to address the situation by talking about “communication and consideration” and “respect in the workplace.”
Michael had left the show in May 2016, which was months earlier than the departure date that had been originally given. He said of his fractured relationship with Kelly: “I learned through all that went down with that, you can’t convince people to like you.”
Following his departure, “Live” had a number of guest co-hosts pass through to sit at the desk with Kelly before Ryan Seacrest took up the spot permanently about a year later.
Michael is a busy guy: he also co-hosts the third hour of GMA with Sara Haines, as well as serving as co-host of “Fox NFL Sunday,” and producer and star of the “$100,000 Pyramid” game show.
Among the many comments left on social media are those who are Team Michael all the way. One person noted: “She is not as nice as she appears. She stopped talking to Regis for goodness sake. Michael is a nice man. Do not cross her!”
Others disputed how involved Kelly should have been in these discussions and one commenter noted: “He doesn’t owe her anything… plain and simple.”
Another commenter agreed, sharing: “I’m still wondering why she took offense to MS leaving. It was a business deal. He didn’t owe her an explanation.”
Other commenters explained why things played out as they did, with one person noting: “the head of Disney asked him not to tell anyone he was moving him to GMA as not to alert the competition. If your boss tells you to keep quiet, you keep quiet.”