Ryan Seacrest was “Live” with Kelly Ripa for the last time today — and the co-hosts got emotional about his departure in the pre-taped episode.
Ripa, 52, and Seacrest, 48, both shed tears as they walked out for the “Bye Bye Ry Ry” episode, which Ripa called “a great day of celebration.”
“Ever since you announced you were leaving the show, spring has never been better in New York,” Ripa joked.
Before going into a montage of Seacrest’s best “Live” moments, Ripa spoke about how he made the world fall in love with him.
“I’ve been in love with you, but now everyone is in love with you,” she declared.
“You’ve given us a lot of laughs around here, but over the past six years, you’ve given us more than just laughs,” Ripa said, sharing that they’ve supported each other through both good times and bad times.
“I, for one, have grown accustomed to seeing your face every morning.”
Later in the show, she shared tearfully, “This has been without question the best six years of my life, and although we have been friends for decades, I feel like I’ve gained through this process a younger brother slash oldest son — that’s how I feel about you, it’s the weirdest thing.”
“I’m so grateful that our success together on this show has led to us developing an even closer yet codependent relationship,” Ripa said, adding that Seacrest will always be the “funcle” to her kids.
“You are forever our family. We will never say goodbye to you, we will only say see you soon, and I love you,” she concluded.
Seacrest went on to share how “lucky” he is, and said that it was “hard to put into words” just how appreciative he is.
“It’s not lost on me how fortunate I am to have this seat next to you, Kell, for six years,” he said. “I’m honored to be part of this family. I’m blessed with so many memories…I will cherish, I will relish those memories. I will relive those memories forever.”
“There’s no place like this on television,” Seacrest added. “I really do feel like a family member.”
Ripa told USA Today on Thursday, just after Seacrest’s big finale was taped, that his goodbye was “very, extraordinarily emotional” and the two of them would probably cry — though they vowed not to.
“Like, ‘No, you’re gonna cry.’ ‘No, I’m not gonna cry. You’re gonna cry,” Ripa said. “And then we were like, ‘Nobody’s going to cry. Because if we start crying, then our parents will cry, and your sister will cry. We’re going to keep it together. We’re going to keep it professional.’”
But they couldn’t even hold it together off-stage before the taping.
“We were backstage waiting for Déjà (Vu Parker) to make the final announcement, and I looked at him, and we just locked eyes,” Ripa shared. “And I was like, ‘Oh my gosh! This sucks!’ And then we both started crying, and I was like, ‘No! No! We are not crying before we get out there. It’s going to be a disaster!’”
Ripa was sentimental over the last time walking out with Seacrest, saying she would miss his humor, generosity and the telepathy they’ve developed as communication throughout the years.
But she expects their friendship will remain unchanged.
“I don’t think a lot will change about our fundamental relationship. We just won’t be having a talk show on TV every morning,” Ripa said. “So it’s not as terrifying as it would be if it was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I loved working with this guy, and now he’s gone.’ I know we’ll still see each other at the holidays. We’ll still travel together.”
Seacrest hosted a farewell dinner for the “Live” crew at a three-Michelin-star restaurant on Wednesday, ahead of his final day as co-host.
“Welcome to this evening. It’s so nice to see our ‘Live’ family and our ‘Live’ family’s family,” Seacrest started his speech, which the show posted on Instagram.
“There really is no other place in our business like the ‘Live’ show,” he continued. “I’m grateful to have been a part for six years. I wanted to get together and enjoy something that I like a lot, which is great food.”
Seacrest announced in February that he was leaving “Live With Kelly and Ryan” after six years as co-host of the daytime talk show, citing his desire to move to Los Angeles as a factor in his decision.
“This is something that [Kelly] and I have been talking about for a long time, and it was a tough, tough decision,” Seacrest stated at the time. “Last year we spoke, and I made the decision to make this my last season as co-host.”
Ripa’s husband and frequent guest co-host, Mark Consuelos, 52, will be taking over, and the ABC program will be rebranded as “Live with Kelly and Mark” — which begins Monday, April 17.
“The only person I can think of that is capable of holding [Ryan’s] torch the way [he has] held it would be my husband, Mark Consuelos,” Ripa said.
After welcoming Conseulos onto the show, Seacrest broke down in tears on air.
Seacrest posted a tribute to his co-host on Instagram at the time of his announcement, writing, “I’m going to miss my work wife and all the laughter we share. When I signed on to host Live in 2017 it was meant to be for three years, but I loved the job and working with Kelly so much that I extended my time and last year I made the decision to stay on for one more final season. I’ve been grateful to be able to share a cup of coffee with our viewers every day, one of the best parts of the gig.”
But the TV and radio host promised “Live” hasn’t seen the last of him, saying he would come back to co-host when he finds himself in New York — or as a guest.
“Live” airs on weekdays on ABC (check local listings).