Ryan Seacrest and Kelly Ripa Through the Years: From Friends to Coworkers

Credit: Disney/ABC Home Entertainment and TV Distribution/Pawel Kaminski

Ryan Seacrest and Kelly Ripa Through the Years: From Friends to Coworkers

Showing them how it is done. Ryan Seacrest and Kelly Ripa have built a strong friendship after working together on-air over the years. Viewers originally enjoyed watching the duo's easy onscreen rapport when Seacrest occasionally guest hosted alongside Ripa when she took over for Kathie Lee Gifford in 2001. Following more than a decade of friendship, the soap opera actress confirmed that Seacrest would be joining her as cohost of Live With Kelly and Ryan in 2017. "It is such a pleasure to be with you every morning," the Georgia native told Ripa as they celebrated the news during a taping. "This is going to be the most fun I've ever had, so thank you." In response, Ripa added, "Thank you for uprooting your life and sacrificing so much to be with us, we really appreciate it. Welcome to the family. You fit right in." As the pair continued to work together, the Hope & Faith alum offered a glimpse at their dynamic when cameras aren't rolling. "What's interesting is we usually text each other 15 times before the show. Yet we still have things to say on the air, which is weird," Ripa explained to Entertainment Tonight in 2020. "It's a weird codependency. We're happy to have our psychiatric episodes unfold before everyone on live TV." [jwplayer 8q1MdEFM-zhNYySv2] At the time, the American Idol host gushed over the time he got to spend with Ripa. "To work with this amazing individual is an incredible thing," he added. "I learned so much from her, not just [about] being on the air but about life. I mean she's a remarkable colleague, the most amazing mother and wife and I get to see all sides of that." The All My Children alum later praised Seacrest for his ability to stay grounded and humble amid his success. "He's not spoiled, the way a lot of people get spoiled really, when they get their fancy job — and by fancy, I mean like, you know, a show-business job," she shared with ET in November 2022. "Ryan has not been jaded or made cynical by a job that often makes people cynical or jaded immediately." She added: “We’ve known each other a really long time. He’s the kid brother I never had. So, we’ve known each other, and we trust each other, and we respect each other. We have a really unique off-camera friendship — which doesn’t happen very often. So we had that going in.” In February 2023, the twosome surprised viewers when the radio host announced his departure after six years. Seacrest will be replaced by Ripa's husband, Mark Consuelos. "I can't thank you enough [Ryan] on all of our behalf," she said during a live taping of their show. "There is nobody else like you. There is nobody who can really do what you do. I know you in real life as well as TV life. I say this about very few people: what you see is what you get. This is not an act, this is a good man. I am so endlessly impressed by you." Scroll down for Ripa and Seacrest's friendship over the years:

Credit: Disney/ABC Home Entertainment and TV Distribution/Pawel Kaminski

Ryan Seacrest and Kelly Ripa Through the Years: From Friends to Coworkers

Showing them how it is done. Ryan Seacrest and Kelly Ripa have built a strong friendship after working together on-air over the years. Viewers originally enjoyed watching the duo's easy onscreen rapport when Seacrest occasionally guest hosted alongside Ripa when she took over for Kathie Lee Gifford in 2001. Following more than a decade of friendship, the soap opera actress confirmed that Seacrest would be joining her as cohost of Live With Kelly and Ryan in 2017. "It is such a pleasure to be with you every morning," the Georgia native told Ripa as they celebrated the news during a taping. "This is going to be the most fun I've ever had, so thank you." In response, Ripa added, "Thank you for uprooting your life and sacrificing so much to be with us, we really appreciate it. Welcome to the family. You fit right in." As the pair continued to work together, the Hope & Faith alum offered a glimpse at their dynamic when cameras aren't rolling. "What's interesting is we usually text each other 15 times before the show. Yet we still have things to say on the air, which is weird," Ripa explained to Entertainment Tonight in 2020. "It's a weird codependency. We're happy to have our psychiatric episodes unfold before everyone on live TV." [jwplayer 8q1MdEFM-zhNYySv2] At the time, the American Idol host gushed over the time he got to spend with Ripa. "To work with this amazing individual is an incredible thing," he added. "I learned so much from her, not just [about] being on the air but about life. I mean she's a remarkable colleague, the most amazing mother and wife and I get to see all sides of that." The All My Children alum later praised Seacrest for his ability to stay grounded and humble amid his success. "He's not spoiled, the way a lot of people get spoiled really, when they get their fancy job — and by fancy, I mean like, you know, a show-business job," she shared with ET in November 2022. "Ryan has not been jaded or made cynical by a job that often makes people cynical or jaded immediately." She added: “We’ve known each other a really long time. He’s the kid brother I never had. So, we’ve known each other, and we trust each other, and we respect each other. We have a really unique off-camera friendship — which doesn’t happen very often. So we had that going in.” In February 2023, the twosome surprised viewers when the radio host announced his departure after six years. Seacrest will be replaced by Ripa's husband, Mark Consuelos. "I can't thank you enough [Ryan] on all of our behalf," she said during a live taping of their show. "There is nobody else like you. There is nobody who can really do what you do. I know you in real life as well as TV life. I say this about very few people: what you see is what you get. This is not an act, this is a good man. I am so endlessly impressed by you." Scroll down for Ripa and Seacrest's friendship over the years:

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2003

Seacrest made his first appearance on Live when Ripa was still cohosting with the late Regis Philbin.

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2005

Ripa and Seacrest collaborated on hosting the Disney Christmas parade. The media personality hosted at Disneyland while Ripa and Philbin reported from Disney World. The gig continued through 2009.

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2016

After previously guest hosting alongside Ripa, Seacrest gushed about the opportunity, telling Entertainment Tonight, "She's asked me to come on for a day right at the beginning of June, and so I'm looking forward to hugging her and seeing her. I've known Kelly forever. She's phenomenal, so to get a chance to sit by her for a day is a blessing."

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2017

Seacrest officially joined Ripa as her cohost for Live With Kelly and Ryan. "When I thought back to all the times we worked together, I could never remember feeling anything but happy," he told the Washington Post about the professional decision.

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2020

"Working with your friends is a great privilege. It is a joy, and I have to say that it is a rare thing to work with a guy who is so authentic and fun and joyful and humble and generous and kind to everyone," the Riverdale guest star, who shares three kids with her husband, detailed to ET during a joint interview. "What you see of Ryan on the air is the person he is backstage, which is a unique thing. He just brings joyfulness and enthusiasm and professionalism and an authenticity to this place that I'm just so grateful to have here."

Credit: ABC Entertainment

2020

"We do a television show, but it's not just a television show," Seacrest told ET. "We come in and we literally have our first cup of coffee together and catch up with each other as friends do, and that's the dynamic we hope we have with people who are watching as well."

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2022

"Happy birthday to a dear friend, co-host, brilliant author, and devoted wife & mother. It’s a privilege and a joy to get to work with you everyday. Cheers @kellyripa !," the producer shared via Instagram in a sweet tribute.

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2022

During an appearance on the "Dear Gabby" podcast, Ripa compared her then-cohost to a “kid brother" she never had.  

“What is unique is that the two of us have, I don’t want to say a psychic ability, but we have a shorthand,” she explained in November 2022. “We have an ability to read each other in a way where I know where his breaking points are and he knows where mine are. And so when bad things happen we are able to — behind the scenes — connect and say, ‘It’s going to be OK, I’ll take this one, I got it.’”

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2023

While taping an episode of Live With Kelly and Ryan, the duo confirmed Seacrest's departure after six years.

“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,” he said in a statement. “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.”

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2023

“I’m so grateful to have spent the last six years beside my dear friend of too many decades to count and will miss starting my days with Ryan,” Ripa shared in her own statement amid the departure news. “Ryan’s energy, passion and love for entertainment is one-of-a-kind.”