After six seasons, Ryan Seacrest has officially said “Seacrest, out!” to Live With Kelly and Ryan, after his final show aired this morning.
For both Seacrest and his co-host Kelly Ripa, it was an emotional show with plenty of tears shed.
In February, the 48-year-old media personality announced he was departing the syndicated morning talk show, calling the decision “bittersweet.” Seacrest resides in Los Angeles, where he also continues to host American Idol, so hosting the New York-based Live was often a challenge.
“The hundreds of hours I spent each year flying, it became a lot. It was longer than I anticipated, but it’s because of her and the great people here,” he told Variety last month. “Over the last couple of years, I had said to Kelly, ‘This is not going to be something that’s right for me forever for all the obvious geographical reasons,’ and she understood it.”
While Seacrest has his reasons for leaving the show, it didn’t make his farewell any less emotional: throughout the final episode, both co-hosts teared up delivering emotional remarks.
“It’s not lost on me how fortunate I am to have held this seat for the last six years,” Seacrest said. “I’ve spent my entire career talking … but today it’s hard to put into words how deeply I’ve appreciated being here and being with you, being invited into your homes every day. I’m honored to be part of this family.”
Kelly Ripa also got emotional saying her goodbye to Ryan.
“I just want to say a few words to you. It’s on behalf of myself and all of us — but mostly me,” Ripa said. “This has, without question, been the fastest six years of my life. And although you and I have been friends for decades and decades, I feel like I’ve gained through this process a younger brother/oldest son.”
“I am so grateful that our success together on this show has led to us developing an even closer — yet codependent — relationship.”
She praised Seacrest’s “goodness, kind, charm, brilliance, authenticity and generosity,” and while it was an emotional moment she also included some humor.
“We reserve the right as a company to troll you on all social media platforms and we will all keep our same mailing addresses in case there is ever a wedding invitation, just in case,” she joked.
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“But seriously, from the bottom of my heart and from the bottom of all our hearts, we just want to thank you for being wonderful, for being an original, authentic addition to this show,” Ripa concluded. “You are forever our family. We will never say goodbye to you. We will only say see you soon. I love you.”
The guest on the final show was US First Lady Dr. Jill Biden. Seacrest’s family, including his parents, sister Meredith and his girlfriend Aubrey Paige, were in the audience for the final show.
The episode also featured two clip montages, one of fun and memorable moments of Ryan Seacrest’s time on the show, and another more emotional reel.
Live already has a new co-host lined up, and it’s someone who already knows Kelly Ripa quite well: her husband, Mark Consuelos. At the end of the show, Consuelos appeared with a sardine cake, and Seacrest symbolically “passed the baton” by handing off his mug to him.
Ryan Seacrest took over hosting duties in 2017, replacing former NFL player Michael Strahan, who left to serve as co-host on Good Morning America.
The morning show has had several hosts over the years: it first rose to prominence hosted by Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee Gifford. After Gifford left the show in 2000, Kelly Ripa became Philbin’s full-time co-host in 2001, and she has been with the show ever since.
What a sweet final show! Congrats to Kelly and Ryan on six great seasons together — we’ll miss seeing them together but wish them both the best!
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