Ryan Seacrest Is Officially Replacing Michael Strahan As Kelly Ripa's Co-Host

Ripa made the announcement early Monday morning during a broadcast of Live With Kelly.

After more than a year without an official co-host, Kelly Ripa told Live With Kelly viewers that none other than Ryan Seacrest will be joining her permanently as co-host of her ABC morning show.

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Michael Strahan served as Ripa's right-hand man for four years on the show before he blindsided her last year with news of his departure to anchor Good Morning America full-time.

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Strahan's exit caused a bit of a divide between the two, and Ripa took a week off of work at the time to cope with the news — even Regis Philbin, an original co-host of Live weighed in on the drama, saying, "They should've told her in the beginning."

The new hosting gig is just another notch on Seacrest's already glowing resumé. As most people know, he served as host of the once popular TV show American Idol and from that point has grown his empire, becoming a big-name producer.

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In addition to this gig, Seacrest will continue to host Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, and per CNN, he will have a studio built inside near his new NBC home so that he can continue working on his syndicated radio shows with iHeartMedia.

Make no mistake, Seacrest is certainly one of the hardest working and gainfully employed people in entertainment.

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