Kelly Ripa Leaving ‘Live’? She Kicks Off A New Season Amid Rumored Feuds With Ryan Seacrest And Megyn Kelly
Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest are gearing up for a new season of Live with Kelly and Ryan, but things aren’t as cozy as they seem. Amidst rumors of an off-screen feud with former Fox anchor Megyn Kelly, Ripa is allegedly thinking about leaving the daytime talk show. Will this be Ripa’s last season?
According to Boston Globe, Seacrest recently admitted that he is thrilled to be hosting alongside Ripa for the show’s 30th season. Although Seacrest confessed he had a lot of butterflies going into his first episode, he enjoys taking the stage with his old friend. As far as Ripa is concerned, she appreciates how every conversation comes easy with Seacrest.
Ripa has been a part of the show for 16 years. She started hosting with Regis Philbin before he left and Michael Strahan took over. Following Strahan’s controversial exit last year, Ripa endured nothing short of 68 tryouts to find her new co-host. While Live has enjoyed top ratings over the years, it’s about to compete with Megyn Kelly’s new show, Megyn Kelly Today.
To make things worse, In Touch Weekly reports that ratings for Live have steadily dipped since Seacrest came on board. In fact, Seacrest failed to bring the show back to where they were last year when Strahan was still co-hosting, and sources claim that network executives are starting to worry.
Ripa herself was reportedly unhappy to learn that Live was not Seacrest’s only new job. He is also attached to host the reboot of American Idol that is set to premiere on ABC sometime in 2018.
“It seems Ryan has lost his Midas touch,” an insider shared. “The decision to add Ryan was supposed to be a slam dunk, but he’s just not registering with viewers for some reason.”
Ratings for Live have decreased by some 33 percent since 2016. Ripa and Seacrest have not commented on the low ratings. A few months ago, Ripa opened up about selecting a new co-host and admitted that Seacrest was the ideal candidate. Ripa revealed that she wanted somebody she could be friends with on and off camera and that Seacrest fit the bill. Not only does he hang out when filming is over, but he is also kind to everyone on the crew.
Given how well Seacrest gets along with Ripa, we can only hope ratings improve this season. If not, it isn’t clear how long Ripa will stick around, especially given how the network handled Strahan’s exit.
New episodes of Live with Kelly and Ripa air weekdays on ABC.
Tell us! Do you think Kelly Ripa needs to worry about Megyn Kelly having the same time slot? Let us know in the comments below.
[Featured Image by ABC]
