Kelly Ripa Says She Discusses Retirement From ‘Live’ With “Great Interest”: “I Don’t Intend to Work at This Job For the Rest of My Life”

Kelly Ripa has been brightening our mornings for more than two decades on Live — but how much longer can she do it? While the longtime host revealed that she has a “great interest” in retiring, she isn’t ready to walk away just yet — especially now that she has a hunky new co-host.

In a new interview with The Purist, Ripa — who has hosted Live since 2001 — attributed her continued success on the hit daytime talk show to her “risk-averse” personality.

“I think the risk-averse quality I have is probably the reason I stayed with the same job for so long,” she said. “Other offers come along, but I like to stick with what I know. I am very steadfast in everything I do, and so when you have me, you have me for life.”

Ripa continued, “Having said that, I don’t intend to work at this job for the rest of my life. I do talk about retirement with great interest, but right now I’m very happy, especially working with Mark.”

Mark Consuelos, who has been married to Ripa for 27 years, made his permanent co-hosting debut in April after taking over for Ryan Seacrest. However, the American Idol host didn’t completely vanish as he has been guest-starring on pre-taped episodes this entire week.

Ripa first joined the Live family 22 years ago as Regis Philbin‘s co-host after Kathie Lee Gifford left the show. The All My Children alum credited viewers for the show’s longevity, despite the “distractions” of streaming services and smartphones that weren’t around when she started.

“Our audience has remained with us, and I think it’s because we are a break from the news,” she said. “The news we cover is oftentimes absurd. We are sort of a respite from the anxiety of the day. We’re not revolutionary. We’re evolutionary, and so we evolve in small, tiny increments along the way, and I think that’s very important. It provides comfort to people.”

Ripa even teased what fans can look forward to seeing in the upcoming season — which is set to begin Sept. 5. According to her, they’re going to “provide the same sort of humor and irreverence that people have come to know and love.”

“Mark has taken the trivia game, where Ryan and I would just give away coffee mugs to the audience, and decided that he’s not going to do that anymore,” she said. “‘There are no participation trophies in life,’ he says, ‘If they want to win a mug, they’re going to have to stump me.'”

She added, “I don’t really follow the ratings, but from what I’ve been told that since Mark has taken over, people stay with the show all the way through because they want to see whether or not Mark gets stumped.”

Live with Kelly and Mark airs on weekdays. You can find local listings on their website.