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Kelly Ripa51, offered insight into his complicated relationship with the late great Regis Philbin while promoting his memoir Live Wire: Long Stories. Kelly said people that there are “misconceptions” about her dynamic with her ex Live co-host, who died in July 2020 at the age of 88. “People think I just showed up one day and was given a job and lived happily ever after and now everything is perfect. But it never is,” Kelly said.
The mother-of-three admitted that the “hardest chapter to write” in her book was the Regis stories. “I don’t want to feel like I’m scolding someone or that I’m being disrespectful. But I also want people to know that this wasn’t just a joke,” she explained. “It took me years to earn my place there and earn the things that were routinely given to the men I worked with. Including an office and a place to put my computer.”
Kelly also remembered how Regis wasn’t overtly welcoming when he replaced her Kathie Lee Gifford on the morning talk show in 2001. She said Regis didn’t want her to “bring an entourage” on her first day, but when she showed up on set with hair and makeup teams, Regis allegedly told her and the producer Michael Gelman“Oh Gelman, there’s an entourage.”
“I understand he probably didn’t want a roommate, Kelly said people, “but the network wanted me to be a co-host and I didn’t think I should pass up the opportunity. I don’t think it was fair to him. But it also wasn’t fair to me. She also admitted to having “good days and bad days” working on it Live with Regis and Kelly, though Kelly believes the TV icon eventually warmed to her.
Kelly also admitted that the duo had some special times together outside of the show. “Off camera and out of that building was a different thing. I really enjoyed the few times we spent together,” she shared. “One time on vacation we went to the same resort and he came to a dinner I hosted – one of the favorite dinners of my life. I’ve never laughed so hard.
The former All my children the actress also disputed Regis’ previous claims that he was never invited to the morning show after he left in 2011. “The show reached out many times. It makes me sad, but it’s not something I’ll ever understand. I was steadfast in my attempt to communicate. You can’t make a person befriend you.”
Still, Kelly credits Regis with being “the best storyteller in the world” and influencing her career. “If I can get 10th that good, I’ll be happy,” she said in the interview. “It’s about taking the audience along for the ride and remembering that you’re always the subject of the joke.” Kelly’s Memoirs Live Wire: Long Stories is out now.
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