Live With Kelly and Mark is without one of its titular personalities this week, but fret not, there was good reason.
Kelly Ripa is seemingly simply enjoying her annual summer break from the longtime ABC talk show leading to her recent absence. Beginning August 4, Ripa, 54, stepped away from the morning broadcast, making room for a roster of guest co‑hosts to join her husband and co‑host Mark Consuelos, also 54.
Actress Jackie Tohn filled in for the pre‑recorded segment Monday before fellow actress Jenna Dewan joined Consuelos Tuesday. Later in the week, singer Rita Ora is scheduled to co‑host the Wednesday broadcast, with other guest hosts rotating in on the remaining days.
It is unclear when Ripa will return. The Independent has contacted representatives for Live for comment.
Ripa’s hiatus follows a week where Consuelos was off the show, working on an external TV project in Los Angeles, with hosts such as Jerry O’Connell, David Muir, Carson Kressley, and Steve Patterson stepping in for him earlier last week.
Ripa’s absence appears to be entirely voluntary and planned. She regularly takes a brief break each summer.
Last year, she was absent during August as she attended D23 to accept her Disney Legend award. This year, Ripa has also been busy promoting projects outside Live, such as her podcast Let’s Talk Off Camera and the ESPN docuseries Running With the Wolves, co-produced with Consuelos and showcasing their ownership of Campobasso FC in Italy.
However, Ripa candidly admitted in 2023 that early retirement is her “favorite topic of discussion” despite Oprah Winfrey’s recent pleas for her to stay on the air.
"I've been at the talk show now for 25 years, so I'm asking for a friend: How did you know it was time to step away?" Ripa asked Winfrey on a July episode of Let's Talk Off Camera.
"First of all, it's not time for you to step away. And I, if I were advising you, I would say absolutely not, because you and Mark are in a groove. And that groove continues to work," Winfrey said.
Ripa joined Regis Philbin as a permanent co-host of Live in 2001. A decade later, Philbin retired, and Ripa briefly hosted solo under the title Live with Kelly while the show again rotated guest hosts. In 2012, former NFL player Michael Strahan was chosen as her new co-host, and the show became Live with Kelly and Michael.
After Strahan’s sudden exit in 2016, the show returned to Live with Kelly until Ryan Seacrest was named co-host in 2017, launching Live with Kelly and Ryan. Their on-air friendship led to a strong run until Seacrest stepped down in April 2023.
Consuelos took over as her new co-host, ushering in the current era of Live with Kelly and Mark.
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