ABC tried to woo Mark Consuelos to ‘Live with Kelly’ since last summer
ABC knew that Ryan Seacrest would be out at “Live with Kelly and Ryan” as long ago as last summer, sources tell Page Six. And network brass already had his replacement in mind.
Insiders say ABC execs approached Kelly Ripa’s husband, Mark Consuelos, last summer about the role, with the expectation that Seacrest would leave.
When Seacrest, 48, announced his exit on Thursday morning, Ripa, 52, said they’d “been talking about [it] for a long time,” but did not specify a timeframe.
The “American Idol” host explained, “It was a tough, tough decision … Last year, we spoke and I made the decision to make this my last season as co-host with Kel here … which is bittersweet.”
ABC was already prepped to make Consuelos, 51, the co-host, we hear.
Ripa’s former soap opera star hubby has sat in as a co-host on the show around 100 times over the years, a TV insider told us — and social media engagement has spiked when the couple are on air together, they said.
A source told us that as a result, ABC saw the “Riverdale” star as a “built-in host” for the show.
Despite all the preparations behind the scenes, the show was able to keep Seacrest’s announcement under wraps until he broke the news on Thursday.
Seacrest explained his post-“Live” career plans following his announcement.
“What I plan to do is once ‘American Idol’ starts from Los Angeles later this spring, I’ll head out to the West Coast and host that show.”
He also said he will still “guest host and fill in” on “Live.”
Ripa said of her partner, “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.”
She said she and Seacrest had joked that the new husband-wife co-hosting setup is “the nation’s weirdest social experiment.”
Ripa — who has co-hosted the daytime talk show since 2001 — was previously joined at the desk by fellow hosts Michael Strahan and Regis Philbin.
Seacrest, meanwhile, took over a permanent hosting spot alongside Ripa in 2017.
Conuselos and Ripa have been married since 1996 and share three children: Michael, 25, Lola, 21, and Joaquin, 19.
