Kelly Ripa Tears Up On Live TV Remembering The Late John Callahan

Kelly Ripa became teary-eyed as she filmed Live with Kelly and Ryan from her home in New York City on March 30 when she opened up about her relationship with the late John Callahan, who passed away over the weekend following a stroke. The talk show host and actress famously appeared alongside John on All My Children for a number of years before she left the soap opera in 2002.

The star was clearly somber as she opened up to co-host Ryan Seacrest via video link, due to the show currently airing remotely in respect of the stay at home order placed on New Yorkers and millions of others across the globe as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. The mom of three spoke candidly about the sudden loss of her “dear friend,” who played the character Edmund Grey on All My Children from 1992 until 2005.

“I had a really bad weekend this weekend,” Kelly told Ryan, per Hollywood Life.

She then explained that “a very dear friend of mine, a friend for almost 30 years, passed away over the weekend,” as her eyes got glassy and she shook her head in an emotional moment.

Kelly was clearly saddened by the passing of her co-star. She called John “a great actor” and “a really great friend” of hers and her family. She then went on to describe him as being “one of the funniest people [she’s] ever met” while she reminisced about him.

She also revealed that John was the former husband of her 22-year-old son Michael’s godmother, Eva LaRue, further explaining the close friendship their two families share.

“He died way too soon. His daughter and my daughter are good friends. They’re the same age,” the morning show host shared, adding that she was left “devastated” by the loss of the 66-year-old.

Continuing to get teary-eyed, Kelly also took the time to apologize to viewers who tuned in to the latest at-home installment of the ABC series. She admitted that she wasn’t quite feeling her usual bubbly and upbeat self following the unexpected loss.

“I apologize in advance if I seem out of it. I really actually am, I’m terribly out of it. So forgive me,” she said, mere hours after she took to Instagram to share a sweet photo slideshow in celebration of the 49th birthday of her husband of 23 years, Mark Consuelos.

Kelly’s latest comments came shortly after she paid tribute to John on social media over the weekend after the sad news of his death was confirmed on March 28.

She shared a sweet photo of Eva while she was pregnant with her and John’s daughter Kaya. In the caption, Kelly admitted that her “heart breaks” for the two.