'Ignorance Is Bliss': Kelly Ripa Says She Would Reconsider EVER Co-Hosting 'Live' With Regis Philbin After Show Drama

Kelly Ripa is continuing to shed light on her behind-the-scenes hardships with the late Regis Philbin, revealing she wouldn't have done Live with Regis and Kelly in hindsight.

She worked with Philbin from 2001 to 2011, taking on the coveted hosting gig after his longtime right-hand personality Kathie Lee Gifford left the year before.

Ripa said if she knew about the struggles they were going to have while filming she would have reconsidered accepting the position, RadarOnline.com has learned.

"I wouldn't have done it. No," she admitted on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast.

"If I had known going in, I wouldn't have done it. And how sad for me. How sad for me. Luckily, ignorance is bliss," Ripa continued. "I didn't know that there was so much fighting between these two factions and that I was considered like … a network girl, which is so ridiculous. I was one of a 40-member ensemble cast on a soap opera. So, I didn't consider myself an anything of anything. I considered myself just an actor."

Ripa pointed out that she had a lot of moving parts in her own life. The TV personality had a young toddler and was pregnant, pointing out that when she first appeared on the show it was under the impression it was for a fill-in role and not an audition.

The All My Children alum said she "can't answer" about whether or not Philbin wanted to host the show solo, but Ripa believes "he certainly didn't need me there." Ripa also felt for him after what he had accomplished on his own.

"He should not have had to have a host assigned to him. That's not fair. He paid his dues and he established this show, and I really advocate for him in this book," she shared about the former Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? host.

This week, Ripa addressed Gifford's interview in which the presenter said she wouldn't be reading the book while defending her strong friendship with the late Philbin.

"I am a person that tends to take a negative and turn it into a positive, so my ultimate comment [to her] is, 'Thank you,'" said Ripa in response, noting the remarks still piqued interest in her book.

Insiders told RadarOnline.com that prior to his passing, Philbin was upset about his strained relationship with Ripa because "he was fond of her and wished they had spent more time together."

Philbin died in July 2020 at 88 years old.