Michael Strahan Reveals New Secrets In Kelly Ripa Feud: 'We Didn't Communicate'
Sept. 21 2016, Updated 5:54 p.m. ET
Look out Kelly Ripa, former friend Michael Strahan is telling his side of the story!
In a new interview with PEOPLE, the 44-year-old lay into his former Live! co-host, insisting that he's not "the bad guy."
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Ripa claimed she was completely blinsided by show executives when Strahan announced his plans to leave the show for Good Morning America without informing her first.
"The most disappointing thing to me was that I was painted as the bad guy, because I value the way I carry myself," Strahan told the magazine. "I don't want people to see me as 'Oh, he just ran out, just left them there.' That's just not true."
"At one point I think we were friends," he added. "I don't know what happened at the end. I learned a lot from her, though."
As for the cold war that ensued after he announced his departure, Strahan admitted it was semi expected.
"I wasn't surprised by her reaction at all, but I can't control somebody else's actions," he explained. "I was there four years, and it's about more than just being in front of the camera."
Now, his friendship with Ripa is forever tainted, Strahan claimed.
"Toward the end of it all, we didn't really communicate that much," he said. "I kinda looked at it like, 'It was what it was.' I come from a business where you have to collaborate. The show was going well. We're all winning. That's all that matters to me."
Ripa may not view herself as a winner, however, as she's still looking for a new cohost on Live!. Sources say she's in "no rush" to permanently replace Strahan at this time.
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