Michael Strahan ‘Looking Forward’ To Last Days With Kelly Ripa On ‘Live! With Kelly & Michael’


Michael Strahan is admitting that he’s “looking forward” to his final days by Kelly Ripa’s side on Live! with Kelly and Michael.

Strahan made the big admission to People on May 3, revealing that he’s feeling “great” ahead of his big departure from the morning show on May 13.

“Great. Looking forward to it,” Michael told the site when quizzed about his upcoming final days sitting alongside Ripa while in New Jersey to sign copies of his memoir, Wake Up Happy: The Dream Big, Win Big Guide To Transforming Your Life, this week

Michael Strahan’s latest admission ahead of his Live! with Kelly and Michael departure in just 10 days comes after Michael told Entertainment Tonight that despite quitting the show and blindsiding co-host Kelly Ripa last month, he still loves working on the morning talk show.

Michael Strahan 'Looking Forward' To Final Days On 'Live! With Kelly & Michael'
[Photo by Mark Davis/Getty Images]

“Every week is great, every day is great for me. I’m on the other side of the dirt,” Strahan said, referring to numerous reports claiming that there’s serious drama between himself and Kelly, who have co-hosted Live! with Kelly and Michael together for the past four years.

“I’m looking forward to [moving to Good Morning America], but I’m still looking forward to going to work for [Live! with Kelly and Michael] I love being there. I still love it,” Strahan told the site on the 2016 Met Gala red carpet, claiming that “everyone got the wrong impression” about the details surrounding his departure and the ensuing drama.

“It’s a great show, great people, and I’m very fortunate to be a part of it,” Michael added.

Strahan’s latest admission follows a slew of reports that Kelly was livid after Strahan announced he was leaving Live! with Kelly and Michael for a full-time role on Good Morning America, which included claims by Page Six that alleged Strahan and Ripa haven’t seen eye to eye for a while.

Michael Strahan 'Looking Forward' To Final Days On 'Live! With Kelly & Michael'
[Photo by Ben Gabbe/Getty Images]

According to an insider who spoke out about Michael Strahan’s surprise departure, Kelly Ripa “was angry” after Strahan’s departure leaked just minutes after she was told about the news by network executives, causing her to take a week-long hiatus from the show.

“The story leaked within minutes of the meeting [with Ripa and Michael Gelman] ending. So [the network] went ahead and put out the press release,” the insider said.

A source revealed to Page Six last week that Kelly and Michael had long had friction behind-the-scenes of the show, claiming that Michael only saw the series as a stepping stone while Ripa, who has co-hosted the series for close to 15 years, sees it very differently.

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

Michael Strahan 'Looking Forward' To Final Days On 'Live! With Kelly & Michael'
[Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for GQ]

“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,” the source continued.

TMZ also reported that there had been serious tension between Michael and Kelly for some time, noting that Ripa was allegedly jealous of Strahan’s rising popularity since he joined the series back in 2012.

Sources claimed that “Kelly couldn’t stand the fact that he stole some of her shine” and noted that “Strahan became an instant star and got lots of attention… and [Kelly] hated it.”

An insider even claimed to TMZ that things were so bad between the pair that Ripa once appeared to be bullying Strahan, though a second insider dispelled those rumors as nothing more than “a joke.”

What do you think of Michael Strahan’s admission that he’s looking forward to his final few days with Kelly Ripa on Live! with Kelly and Michael?

[Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images]

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