Kelly Ripa and Regis Philbin cohosted Live With Regis and Kelly together for a decade, but their relationship off camera wasn’t the same as it appeared in front of the camera.
The actress was starring on All My Children when she was tapped to replace Kathie Lee Gifford as Philbin’s cohost on the morning talk show. She got the gig after a memorable appearance as a guest host in 2000 — when a psychic named Char Margolis revealed she was pregnant on air.
“I haven’t told my boss yet!” Ripa admitted at the time.
During her 10th anniversary special in 2011, the Hope & Faith alum credited Margolis for why she got the job. “Char, of course, is the reason that I got my job here, I’m convinced. I really am convinced that you’re the reason I wound up getting this job,” she said.
Philbin shared a similar sentiment in his 2011 book.
“In the end, it could only be Kelly,” he wrote. “We kind of knew that from her memorable debut onward. She was the right choice and really the only choice.”
After more than 20 years on Live, the former Who Wants to Be a Millionaire host left in 2011. Five years later, he made waves for his appearance on Larry King Live, revealing he and Ripa were no longer in touch — and alleging that he was never asked to appear on the talk show again.
“Never once did they ask me to go back,” Philbin claimed about Live in 2017. “[Kelly] got very offended when I left. She thought I was leaving because of her. I was leaving because I was getting older and that wasn’t right for me anymore.”
WABC President Dave Davis responded to Philbin’s comments at the time: “It was wonderful to have Regis on the show for our 2015 Halloween special. He’s also been invited back several times as a guest and, in fact, was confirmed for a date but was not able to make it at the time.”
Ripa stayed mum about her former cohost’s remarks for years but was asked about the drama while promoting her memoir, Live Wire: Long-Winded Short Stories, in September 2022. “I was steadfast in my attempt at communication. You can’t make a person befriend you,” she told People.
She also opened up about the early days of Live in her book.
“I want people to understand that joining Live, from my perspective, was a terrifying venture,” Ripa told Haute Living in September 2022. “It was entering into a work environment that I did not understand. I think had I gone in there now, I would have been fully equipped to handle it, but back then, I was not equipped in any sense of the word. And therefore, I did not protect myself the way I probably should have. It was a different time, back then. It was a tabloid, journalistic, free-for-all, and there were systems in place there for a long time at the talk show that were not necessarily there to protect me.”
Scroll through for a complete timeline of their ups and downs:
Ripa was invited to guest host Live for the first time in November. Gregory Pace/BEI/Shutterstock
While the twosome spent nearly every weekday together for a decade, they didn’t bond much off screen. “Regis had a mandate: Absolutely no talking off-camera,” Ripa told The New York Times. “He had almost a superstition about it. You save it for the show. I’d be like, ‘Good morning,’ and he’d say, ‘Save it for the air!” In 2022, she told People that she “enjoyed” the “handful of times” that she spent with Philbin away from the cameras. Henry Lamb/BEI/Shutterstock
Philbin’s final episode of Live aired in November. Bill Greenblatt/UPI/Shutterstock
Philbin made a cameo on the Halloween episode of Live. "I knew you wouldn't be able to stay away!" Ripa declared as she hugged her former cohost. Mediapunch/Shutterstock
In addition to his claims on Larry King that he wasn’t invited back to Live, he said that the former colleagues didn’t keep in touch. “A lot of times I didn’t comment on things because I don’t want to extend the news cycle. My silence means more than the chatter. If I’m not saying something, it’s because I’m being graceful and I’m letting my silence do the talking for me,” Ripa told Haute Living about revisiting the situation in her 2022 book. “It’s hard to put everything out there, so I didn’t. It’s like a Monet: You really have to stand back and see the big picture. You don’t want to get too involved because if I were to break it down, it would be almost too much, too unpalatable. I still wanted [the book] to be entertaining at the end of the day.” Kristina Bumphrey/StarPix/Shutterstock
Ripa shared the network’s statement when Philbin died in July. He was 88. "We are beyond saddened to learn about the loss of Regis Philbin. He was the ultimate class act, bringing his laughter and joy into our homes everyday on Live for more than 23 years,” the statement read. “We were beyond lucky to have him as a mentor in our careers and aspire everyday to fill his shoes on the show. We send our deepest love and condolences to his family and hope they can find some comfort in knowing he left the world a better place.” She also paid tribute to him on air, getting emotional. “As people get older, you always know that certain things are inevitable, and passing away is one of those things, but Regis is one of the people that we all believed would somehow figure out a way around the inevitable," Ripa said. ”It was not in the cards, I suppose. … They don't make them like Regis anymore.” Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
Ripa told People that she “loved” Philbin and “still” does. She added seemingly hinted that the twosome never officially made up after his comments in 2017. “The show had reached out many times. It makes me sad but it’s not something I will ever understand,” she said. “I was steadfast in my attempt at communication. You can’t make a person befriend you.” Jason Mendez/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
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