TV viewers woke up to some important news from Ryan Seacrest Thursday morning.
Seacrest has announced that after six years of sharing jokes and secrets and entertaining America, he has decided the time has come to exit Live! with Kelly and Ryan!
For six years, Ryan Seacrest and Kelly Ripa were the morning show’s co-hosts.
Seacrest’s replacement has been revealed, and it is none other than Ripa’s husband, Mark Consuelos, because he brings ratings with his juicy and private revelations.
The popular media personality explained that he decided in 2022 to go for a significant career change.
He will return to Los Angeles to focus on other projects, including American Idol, American Top 40, and On Air with Ryan Seacrest.
The mega-producer was emotional as he revealed: “Working alongside Kelly over the past six years has been a dream job and one of the highlights of my career. She has been an amazing partner, friend, and confidant, and although we will always be a part of each other’s lives, I will miss our mornings together. I also want to thank Michael Gelman and the entire staff and crew – we’ve made memories to last a lifetime, met some of the most incredible people, and had the warmest welcome into the homes of so many viewers across America. It’s been a memorable ride, and now I’m excited to pass the baton to Kelly’s ‘real’ husband, Mark.”
He went on to say: “I’ll be transitioning out of Live this Spring to shoot the 21st season of American Idol in LA, continue my radio show on KIIS-FM and Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin Eve, and focus my summer on opening three more Ryan Seacrest Foundation Studios in pediatric hospitals across the country. When I signed on to host Live in 2017, it was meant to be for 3 years, but I loved the job and working with Kelly so much that I extended my time, and last year I made the decision to stay on for one more final season.”
Talking about her husband, Kelly Ripa joked that it was a strange social experience and added: “The only person I can think of that is capable of holding [Ryan’s] torch the way [he has] held it would be my husband, Mark Consuelos.”
Sources from ABC revealed to Page Six that the network has been working hard to convince Consuelos to join the program since the summer of 2022 because he delivers massive ratings whenever he is the guest-host.
He has appeared on the morning gabfest over 100 times. The husband and wife duo captivates the audience with clever jokes and intimate stories that often have something to do with their bedroom or their children.
The All My Children actors, who have been married since 1996, are parents to Michael, 25, Lola, 21, and Joaquin, 19.
