After more than two decades on air, Kelly Ripa has opened up about her plans to step away from hosting Live with Kelly and Mark.
The TV personality, 55, recently sat down with Decider to reflect on her job amidst the 25th anniversary of her co-leading the show.
And while she had nothing but positive things to say about her role, she hinted that she might be leaving sooner rather than later.
‘Contrary to what everyone around here thinks, I don’t intend on working for the rest of my life,’ she admitted. ‘But I think we’ll all make that decision when the time comes.’
Ripa, who currently hosts the talk show with husband Mark Consuelos, 54, added that when the time does come for her to step away, she will make sure they find the perfect co-host to replace her.
‘I think there’s a way to sort of get new people on board and have them test co-hosts, and get the audience used to other people,’ she continued.
‘I think it’s important. I love this show too much to see it sort of ever end with us.’
She vowed that the show will continued to flourish even when she eventually moves on.
After more than two decades on air, Kelly Ripa has opened up about her plans to step away from hosting Live with Kelly and Mark
Ripa, who currently hosts the talk show with husband Mark Consuelos told Decider that she might be leaving sooner rather than later
‘For me, I always say this job and this place is so special, that I really do believe in this show as a franchise. It’s a franchise show,’ she explained.
‘Before me, there was Regis [Philbin] and Kathie Lee [Gifford]. And before Kathie Lee, there was Regis and a myriad of other hosts.
‘I believe this show will continue on for as long as linear television exists. I believe that there are too many talented people out there that really deserve the opportunity to find their own audience and grow the audience the way they see fit. Because I don’t intend to work for the rest of my life. I really do not.’
Ripa, who described her job as ‘so special,’ recalled being a fan of the show long before she joined as a host, explaining that she was drawn to it because it was so ‘unique.’
‘I really thought it was very funny, very irreverent, there was nothing else on TV like it,’ she gushed.
But she added that it was the schedule that really cemented her taking the job all those years ago, since it allowed her to also have time to be present for her three kids, Michael , 28, Lola, 24, and Joaquin, 22, whom she shares with Consuelos.
‘Working here has been unique to me in myriad ways because I’ve been able to work full-time professionally, and yet also raise a family, which is very different from most entertainers in this business,’ she said.
‘If you have a family, you’re often having to take your kids out of school and move across the country, or move depending on what series you’re working on, anywhere.
‘Contrary to what everyone around here thinks, I don’t intend on working for the rest of my life,’ she admitted. ‘But I think we’ll all make that decision when the time comes’
Ripa is pictured with Regis Philbin in 2001 on the show
‘And I was able to raise my kids in the same place, in the same town, going to the same school, all of their lives.
‘That really appealed to me. I knew the show was special from watching it, but the work schedule was what really appealed to me initially.’
As for what allowed it to ‘withstand the test of time,’ Ripa said she believes it’s because they ‘cover the issues that people have in their own homes.’
‘We’re very irreverent. We cover the news, but we cover the absurdity of the news. We cover the absurd,’ she explained.
‘Our job when we come on the air, we are fully cognizant that the viewers at home have had five hours of news programming. So we try to bring them a lighter, less anxiety-inducing side of what the headlines have to offer.’
