Kelly Ripa & Ryan Seacrest Are Butting Heads Already!

Behind her public smiles, Live chat star Kelly Ripa is secretly livid Ryan Seacrest is her new co-host —

because she didn’t pick the successful showbiz mogul to be her partner!

That’s the word around the morning show’s New York set after the hunk joined the popular program, which was renamed Live with Kelly & Ryan.

“Kelly wanted someone she could boss around — and that isn’t Ryan,” tattles an insider.

“He’s as big of a star as she is! Maybe even bigger!”

Insiders say the former American Idol host, who has a huge syndicated radio show — the American Top 40 song countdown —

and produces a number of reality TV series, was hand-picked by Kelly’s boss, ABC kingpin Ben Sherwood.

“Kelly preferred someone less well-known,” notes the insider, adding other candidates for the job included B-list actors Jerry O’Connell and Fred Savage.

The feisty, blonde is reportedly still fuming over the way she was blindsided by former co-host Michael Strahan and network honchos in April 2016.

“Kelly is certainly a big star now, but she’s learning that she’s not big enough to call the shots when it comes to

who’ll be sitting beside her when the cameras roll,” says a source. “That’s got to hurt.”