It’s been over a month since Ryan Seacrest left Live! and Kelly Ripa’s hubby, Mark Consuelos, took over his job as co-host. Seacrest co-headlined Live! with Kelly and Ryan for six years before ultimately making the decision to leave due to his other priorities, such as American Idol and his Los Angeles-based radio show. The TV personality also plans to open more of his foundation pediatric hospitals across the country over the summer, which will take more precedence than the talk show that films in New York. But even though he's moved on, seeing the show's rebrand following his departure has been weird for him it seems.
When Ryan Seacrest announced he’d be leaving Live!, Mark Consuelos was simultaneously announced to be replacing him. Consuelos and Kelly Ripa seem to have already gotten used to being co-hosts, as the former has guest co-hosted the program on numerous occasions. Seacrest shared some honest sentiments about the new Live! while talking to ET:
When the commercial comes on TV, it's so strange to me. It's also weird when I say I'm going on Live With Kelly and Mark and drinking from my Live With Kelly and Mark mug. ... But the coffee tastes better from it!
The 48-year-old media mogul put a lot of work into it Live! for those six years, based on what we've seen. He and Ripa seemed to grow very close during their time as co-hosts as well. So it's understandable that the star would still needs some time to get used to the changes. On the upside, he won’t always have to travel to the other side of the country for work and. Of course, he can also always return as a guest star (as he did just recently) and get some of that great-tasting coffee.
During the star's last day on Live!, there were plenty of tears, laughs, and more, as the show detailed some of his best moments. I can imagine that doing a talk show almost every weekday morning can be taxing on a person, especially if they are also doing a lot of other work and traveling for it. So it’s not surprising to me that he came to the decision to leave, though it was still sad to see him go.
Luckily, he is keeping plenty busy post-Live!, particularly with the remaining American Idol installments this season. One could argue that he owes the bulk of his career to the show and, believe it or not, he almost didn't end up hosting Idol when it was first being developed years ago. He was actually asked to audition to be a judge, and the show could've been much different had things panned out that way. Who knows, he may not have even earned the notoriety he now has, which arguably helped earn him his talk show gig.
Since Live! with Kelly and Mark has taken over weekday mornings, it’s been fun to see the dynamic between the titular couple as not only spouses but co-hosts. Kelly Ripa spent a while looking for her last host after Michael Strahan abruptly left Live! in 2016, with the show rebranding to Live! with Kelly for a year as she went through rotating guest co-hosts before Ryan Seacrest finally joined. It's great that she now not only has a great co-host in Consuelos but that Ryan Seacrest -- despite any weird feelings he might have about the rebrand itself -- approves.
Check your local listings to see when you can catch Live! with Kelly and Mark, and be sure to take a look at the 2023 TV schedule for news on upcoming premieres.
