Strahan, a former National Football League star, has been a hit with “Live” viewers and became a twice a week contributor to “Good Morning America” in 2014.
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After a week where she reportedly refused to appear on air alongside co-host Michael Strahan following his surprise announcement that he soon plans to bolt their show, Kelly Ripa is expected to return to “Live!”.
Another source told People that Ripa felt “hurt and beyond betrayed” after the show’s management gave her the news Strahan’s departure.
According to the New York Times, when told of the news, Ripa said to her producer, “Didn’t I tell you this was going to happen?” Not long after that, speculation about the status of Ripa and Strahan’s relationship started popping up: One source toldEntertainment Tonight that while the duo got along well in the beginning, lately things have been tense between the two. As reported earlier this week, the program ignored her warnings, first voiced two years ago, that Strahan’s guest spots on GMA would lead to something more serious.
Yet an insider confirmed to People that both Ripa and Strahan will be present for Tuesday’s show. Though there could theoretically be some other explanation for Ripa’s absence, her nonattendance this week seems to have been an attempt to make the network sweat.
Kelly Ripa is weathering recent “Live!” drama with the support of Mark Consuelos and Regis Philbin.
There were reports that Ripa was “beyond angry” with ABC for the decision, but now she is ready to return to work.
Ripa has been totally silent on social media since the Strahan announcement, not even issuing any statement to the press about the matter. Actress Shay Mitchell of “Pretty Little Liars” was scheduled to co-host Monday.
But the “Live” source contradicted that account, saying that Strahan had always been in talks with “GMA” about expanding his role there.
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Stelter spoke with The Hollywood Reporter’s Janice Min and said, “I wonder if you think there’s a gender dynamic at play here”.
