Michael Strahan has said goodbye to Kelly Ripa.
And he"s basically saying good riddance as well.
Not in those exact words, of course, but it"s pretty clear at this point that the former football star and co-host of Live with Kelly and Michael is happy with his new career course.
Back in the spring, Strahan announced he was leaving his full-time position at Live for a full-time position at Good Morning America, a decision that was apparently news to Ripa.
She was upset that she learned of the move at the last second, and she made her dissatisfaction pretty well known.
After not appearing on her own program for a couple days, Ripa returned to Live and then awkwardly sat next to Strahan for a few weeks until he made his departure.
It was the epitome of trainwreck television.
So, how does Strahan feel about his new gig, which got underway this week?
Quite awesome, thank you very much!
“GMA has been great. It’s earlier obviously,” Strahan told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show on Wednesday.
He continued:
“I’m getting up a lot earlier. I start at 7, I’ve got to be there a little earlier than that, but it’s been great because it’s so interesting and I’m learning.
"So every job I’ve had I’ve just learned along the way, and this one is interesting because of all the stories involving so many different things that are new to me and I’m loving it.”
Strahan didn"t talk about leaving Ripa at all.
But his silence spoke volumes.
“I’m cool, like now, but the second the cameras go off or somebody walks up to me, I’m like this,” he said, bowing his head and looking away.
“And when I was a kid and I played football and I was 7 or 8 I cried the entire game. I didn’t like the applause. I didn’t like the cheering. It scared me. I didn’t like the attention, and I still don’t in some ways."
As for Kelly? She made her own announcement on Wednesday.
She is yet to decide on a replacement for Strahan, but she"ll soon be welcoming a fan to sit next to her for one special episode.
Using social media, someone out there can actually serve as co-host one morning down the line.
"Now it"s time to put your mouths where your thumbs are," Ripa quipped yesterday morning, after noting that she’d read social media comments calling her job easy.
"I"m building a co-host empire."
Watch Strahan speak to Fallon about football below and sound off: Do you miss him on Live?
