Ryan Seacrest Announces He’s Leaving ‘Live with Kelly and Ryan’
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American Idol host Ryan Seacrest has announced that he plans to leave Live with Kelly and Ryan after this season. Seacrest first joined the morning talk show in 2017 and has co-hosted with Kelly Ripa in the years since. Ripa’s husband Mark Consuelos will be stepping in as her new co-host.
Ryan Seacrest Is Leaving ‘Live with Kelly and Ryan’
During Thursday’s new episode of Live with Kelly and Ryan, Seacrest announced that this would be his last season co-hosting the show. He explained that he’ll be heading to Los Angeles to host American Idol when it goes live in the spring. However, he’ll be back to guest host Live in the future.
“You are a gem. You are one of my best friends,” Ripa told Seacrest after he shared the news. “The greatest part of this entire experience is that you’ve gone from being a friend to a family member. You are family to us.”
Seacrest also posted about the decision on Instagram, sharing that he originally signed on to co-host the show for three years, but he ended up staying twice as long. As he said on the show, “Three turned into six because of the genuine fun of being on this television show every hour of every weekday.”
Seacrest will continue to keep busy. As he wrote in his Instagram post, in addition to hosting American Idol, he’ll also be focusing on his KIIS-FM radio show and hosting Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. He’s also opening three more Ryan Seacrest Foundation studios in pediatric hospitals this summer.
SEE ALSO: RYAN SEACREST HELPS ‘AMERICAN IDOL’ FANS WITH GENDER REVEAL DURING FILMING
Ripa’s Husband Mark Consuelos Will Host with Her
After Seacrest made his announcement on Thursday’s show, Ripa shared the exciting news that her husband and frequent guest host Mark Consuelos will be joining the show permanently as her new co-host.
“Because we are so aware of the importance of continuity and consistency, and the familial vibe that we all have here,” Ripa said, “it only makes sense to not just to our viewing audience at home, but our audience here within our staff, our support system, our extended family, to bring in somebody that we know and love.”
Ripa told Seacrest that Consuelos is “the only person I can think of that is capable of holding your torch.” People reports that the show will be officially rebranded as Live with Kelly and Mark.
In 2001, Ripa joined the show alongside the late Regis Philbin, replacing former co-host Kathie Lee Gifford. After Philbin left the show, she co-hosted alongside Michael Strahan from 2012 to 2016. Seacrest has been her co-host since 2017.
