Live! With Kelly and… We’ll have to wait and see the new name. Because the big fella with the gap-toothed grin, Michael Strahan, is breaking up with his TV partner Kelly Ripa and heading back to where he got his TV start — GMA. All things come to an end — hey this show used to be called Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee. Strahan, an NFL Hall of Famer with the New York Giants, expressed his massive gratitude for his four years at Live! and for the audience support. “You’ve given us your eyeballs,” he said awkwardly, using the business jargon for viewers.
He also thanked Kelly Ripa, who warmly welcomed him to the show she already ruled when Regis Philbin said goodbye in 2011. “Kelly has been an unbelievable partner,” Strahan said. Ripa wasn’t with him as he spoke to the audience the day after the departure announcement — she took the day off. But Strahan reminded viewers that he’d be around for months yet (he hits GMA in September) and also that he’d be back to guest host Live!, too. But the most important thing he had to say was this: he’s not going far. “It’s the same channel!” Strahan was certain to say.
