He keeps calling, but she won’t pick up the phone.
Michael Strahan has repeatedly tried to reach out to co-host Kelly Ripa but has been rebuffed, Confidenti@l has learned.
“He’s reached out but there’s been no response,” a source close to the show said.
Strahan shocked Ripa and “Live!” executive producer Michael Gelman Tuesday when he revealed to them in a post-show meeting that he was leaving “Live! With Kelly and Michael” to join “Good Morning America” full time.
“He did the right thing and gave them a lot of notice that he was leaving at the end of the summer,” a second show source said. “He’s been there all week for the staff, she on the other hand has disappeared.”
Ripa — who called out sick Wednesday and then took what a show rep says was a “planned vacation” — looked perfectly healthy as she exited her Upper East Side townhouse clutching a copy of Malcom Gladwell’s “David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants.”
Amazon describes the tome as about “how we think about obstacles and disadvantages, offering a new interpretation of what it means to be discriminated against … or endure any number of other apparent setbacks.”
Their four-year adventure together began on Sept. 4, 2012 as Michael Strahan was introduced as Ripa's permanent co-host after a few guest appearances in the past. In the hilarious debut episode, Strahan jogged into the studio and scooped up Ripa in a big hug before getting into an Olympic-style episode. The show was sure to be a hit and the ratings definitely proved it!
Meanwhile, Strahan was a no-show as co-host at the Food Bank Gala on Wednesday night. But it had nothing to do with Kelly and was instead because of production of Strahan’s game show “$100,000 Pyramid.”
A source says that organizers knew Strahan was probably not going to make it over a week ago but continued trumpeting his name as co-host along with celebrity chef Mario Batali.
Even “The Chew” co-host admitted that he was surprised by Strahan’s announcement.
“Who wasn’t?” Batali exclaimed. “I know him pretty well. I found out about 10 minutes before everyone else did.”
And as for Ripa’s “sick” days, Batali was benevolent.
“She was probably sick,” he surmised. “I don’t imagine she went home in a snit. It’s been her show longer than his so he’s replaceable. Maybe she needed a moment to deal with the new information. She’s cool, she’s going to survive.”
At the end of the evening guests bid on a dinner with comedians Aziz Ansari, Mike Myers and Jim Gaffigan with food prepared by Mario Batali.
“I promise Michael Strahan will be there with Kelly. It will be their first encounter,” Ansari quipped to which Batali added, “Kelly will be there, but Michael Strahan may or may not come.”
Also at the glittery gala, which raised $2.4 million, were Jon Bon Jovi, chefs Carla Hall, Gail Simmons and Bryan Greenberg.
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