Kelly Ripa's Nightmare: Michael Strahan Reveals Dark 'Live' Secrets In Tell-All
'I was a nervous wreck!'
Oct. 6 2016, Updated 11:52 a.m. ET
Kelly Ripa can't be pleased! Just before his sudden departure from Live, Michael Strahan spoke out about his infamous troubles with the ABC morning talk show. In his tell-all book, Wake Up Happy, the new Good Morning America host, 44, claimed he was a "nervous wreck" during his time opposite spitfire Ripa.
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When Strahan began auditioning to be Ripa's cohost in 2011, he felt like he was a contestant on a reality show competition! "It was almost like being on The Bachelor and wondering who would get the rose because Kelly shared morning coffee with a lot of guys, including Seth Meyers, Josh Groban, Nick Lachey and Neil Patrick Harris," he revealed in the book, which was first published last fall before a paperback rerelease this week.
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The retired football star said he wasn't even one of the finalists to share the screen with Ripa, who was cohost-less following Regis Philbin's retirement . "For a long time, I wasn't favorite or even thought to be a contender for the job," he wrote.
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Many advisors told him he never stood a chance in snagging the position, in part due to his race. "The network owned by Disney is never going to give this spot to a retired black football player," the naysayers allegedly said. "It's not going to happen."
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After guest hosting a whopping 20 times, Strahan learned he got the job— but he initially thought he was about to hear bad news! "It felt as if I was in trouble and was being sent to the principal's office," he recalled.
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The anxiety didn't subside after he scored the coveted title of Ripa's cohost. "The whole first year of Live was a constant stream of new challenges and new fears," he said, adding that he was a "nervous wreck" while covering the Academy Awards. Soon-to-be GMA cohost Robin Roberts, not Ripa, eventually put his mind at ease.
ABC’s “Live With Kelly And Michael” – 2013
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Despite his feud with Ripa, he thanked the star in his book's acknowledgements— along with her replacements, his GMA cohosts.
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Sadly, Strahan and Ripa, 46, are no longer on speaking terms, he recently admitted. "At one point I think we were friends," he recently told People. "I don't know what happened at the end."
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