Are you friendly or feuding? Fans have speculated about Kathie Lee GiffordAnd Kelly Ripa‘s relationship since the latter took over as Regis Philbin‘s Live!2001 cohost
The former TodayContributor began working with the late Who Wants To Be a Millionaire1985 was their host, when they coanchored The Morning Show for New York City’s ABC station. Three years later, the series was broadcast nationally and retitled Live! Live!.
They were a staple of morning TV for over 20 years, until Gifford’s departure in July 2000. There were rumors that Gifford’s departure was due to a fight with Philbin. However, the truth is that there was no such feud. Listen to My HeartLater, the author revealed that she had actually quit the series to care about her father Aaron Epstein, who passed away in 2002.
“My daddy was dying, and I was not comfortable making it public,” the Daytime Emmy winner told the New York PostAugust 2007. “I knew it was going to be a horrendous family experience. I wanted to be there for him without the cameras and without having to explain. I wanted my daddy to be able to die with the dignity in which he had lived his life.”
After Gifford’s exit, Philbin began holding on-air auditions to find her replacement. Ripa initially tried out in November 2000 and was announced as the show’s permanent cohost in February 2001. Ripa was a New Jersey native best known for her role in the long-running soap opera. All My Children.
“The biggest misconception is that it all came easily,” Ripa wrote of her early days at Live!In her 2022 memoir Live Wire: Long-Winded Short Stories. “People think I just showed up one day and was handed a job and I lived happily ever after and now everything’s perfect. But it never is that way.”
The Broad City alum added that she worked incredibly hard to “earn” respect at the talk show. “There were good and bad days. I don’t want to feel like I’m slamming anyone or that I’m being disrespectful. But I also want people to know it was not a cakewalk,” she wrote. “It took years to earn my place there and earn things that are routinely given to the men I worked with.”
Gifford was for her part a member of the TodayShow in 2008, cohosting fourth hour with Hoda Kotb. She also returned to her old haunts from time to time. Live!, both before and after Philbin’s July 2020 death at age 88. In October 2020, she was on Live! Live! for the first time since her former cohost’s passing.
The date of her appearance happened to fall on Ripa’s 50th birthday, so she began her interview by sending her best wishes to the Hope & Faith alum. “Happy birthday, darling,” Gifford said. “Enjoy it. Enjoy 50. It goes by so fast.”
Continue scrolling to see everything Ripa and Gifford have said about one another over the years.
