Good riddance? Michael Strahan doesn’t miss his old 9-to-5. The 44-year-old former NFL star told Chelsea Handler during an interview for an upcoming episode of her Netflix show Chelsea that he realized he needed a “break” from Live With Kelly and Michael.
“I really haven’t missed it,” Strahan told Handler, the Associated Press reports. “But I loved it. Don’t get me wrong: I loved it. When you get a break, sometimes you kind of go, ‘Wow, I kind of needed it.’ I needed a break.”
Strahan left the ABC talk show on May 13 after shocking viewers — and his cohost Kelly Ripa — when he announced in April that he would be leaving the show for a full-time gig on Good Morning America. He was first hired for Live in September 2012, after former cohost Regis Philbin left.
“I really haven’t had a chance to watch,” he told Handler, admitting that he hasn’t tuned in to the show since his departure. “But I think I’ve been working so hard for the last seven or eight years since I retired from football, that it’s been a relief.”
As previously reported by Us Weekly, the athlete left the gig earlier than expected. Prior to his exit, the tension was apparent between Strahan and Ripa, who was blindsided by the news. A day after she learned that he would be leaving, she took a “sick day” from work and then went on a preplanned vacation with her husband, Mark Consuelos.
“Our long national nightmare is over,” she joked with guests when she returned on April 26. “I first want to honestly, sincerely thank you for welcoming me back to the show. The show of support through this bizarre time has been really overwhelming. I really — I needed a couple of days to gather my thoughts after 26 years with this company. I earned the right, and let’s be honest: I know half of you called in sick to be here, so we get each other.”
Ripa has been working alongside various cohosts. The network has yet to announce Strahan’s replacement.
