Kelly Ripa’s Jealousy Behind Michael Strahan’s Decision To Quit ‘Live! With Kelly & Michael’ [Report]

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Did Michael Strahan decide to ditch Live! With Kelly and Michael because Kelly Ripa grew increasingly jealous of his rising popularity?

According to a new report by Page Six, Ripa allegedly started “freezing out” Strahan after his celebrity status rose since joining the morning talk show in 2012, which the site is speculating could have led to the tension that prompted Strahan to announce his surprising departure last month.

“He walked the red carpet and [the press] wanted to talk to him more than [Ripa],” Page Six‘s source alleged. “She helped him get the job and he starts moving up on his own, creating his own brand. She started to freeze him out.”

The site is also speculating that Kelly’s huge pay check, which Examiner alleged in 2013 netted Ripa $20 million a year, also caused tension between the co-hosts.

“Things just got worse and worse and it was colored by the fact that [Ripa] was making so much more money than he was there,” a former TV executive told Page Six following the Live! With Kelly and Michael drama last week.

The source also claimed Michael was allegedly often so “difficult” to work with that producers of the show were once forced to bring in a live studio audience during a Halloween segment that was originally scheduled to be pre-taped so that Michael “would behave.”

“When he doesn’t need to be on, he shuts down and can be selfish,” the source said.

The insider added that Strahan supposedly didn’t take his position very seriously and saw co-hosting with Kelly as being a “temporary home,” which Ripa didn’t appreciate.

“She really loves the show, she knows how lucky she is to have it,” the source said of Kelly Ripa, “For him, it’s a temporary home and this was clear to the people who were working there.”

Page Six’s latest report follows claims by TMZ that also appeared to confirm there was serious tension and jealousy behind-the-scenes of Live! With Kelly and Michael long before Michael Strahan announced his departure.

The site reported last month that Kelly “couldn’t stand the fact that Michael stole some of her shine” and allegedly hated that Strahan had become such a big star since joining the morning series four years ago.

Page Six previously alleged last month that Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan’s on-screen chemistry was actually all for show and reported that the co-hosts couldn’t stand each other when they weren’t sitting alongside each other on the long-running series.

“They could not stand each other, and whenever they communicated off-camera, it was always through their reps,” an insider alleged, adding that Ripa was furious when Strahan announced he was leaving because she felt Michael “stepped over her” despite helping him on his rise to stardom.

“She got [Strahan] started, he stepped over her without an FYI, and now a nice morning show has become ABC’s newest drama,” a source told Page Six.

The latest round of drama rumors follow the news that Michael’s final day on Live! With Kelly and Michael will come on May 14, months earlier than he was originally scheduled to leave Kelly’s side.

“After meeting with the producers of both Live! With Kelly and Michael and Good Morning America, and after speaking with Kelly and Michael, we have decided on a plan that best advantages both shows for the future,” an ABC spokesperson told E! News last week.

“To that end, Michael Strahan’s last day on Live! With Kelly and Michael will be on Friday, May 13, which not only gives the show the chance to have a nice send-off for him during the May book, but to also immediately begin the on-air search for a new co-host,” the spokesperson added.

What do you think of reports that behind-the-scenes jealousy and drama with Kelly Ripa caused Michael Strahan to leave Live! With Kelly and Michael?

[Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images]