Ryan Seacrest couldn’t leave his talk show without giving co-host Kelly Ripa an emotional goodbye.
It’s officially a wrap for TV’s hardest working host’s run on Live with Kelly and Ryan. To commemorate the end of his six-year venture, the crew all sat down for a “farewell dinner.” In a video posted to the morning show’s Instagram page, Ryan addressed the staff ahead of his final episode, which aired Friday. He began:
“Welcome to this evening. It’s so nice to see our Live family, and our Live family’s family.”
He continued:
“There really is no other place in our business like the Live show. I’m grateful to have been a part for six years, and I wanted us to get together and enjoy something that I like a lot, which is great food.”
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The 48-year-old playfully went on:
“Everybody for the last couple of weeks has been asking me, ‘What are you going to miss?’ For starters, I will miss the red herring. I’ll also miss sharing the bathroom, well, with everyone.”
He added that he’ll miss the Halloween and Christmas shows the most and shouted out a few specific talents both in front of and behind the camera, calling the show “extraordinary.” He then got to his co-host and good friend, Kelly:
“And last but not least, Kelly Ripa, our leader.”
He then gave her husband, Mark Consuelos, who will be taking over his hosting duties, his dues:
“Mark, my brother, congratulations. It’s wonderful to go through this process with somebody that I love so much, that obviously I know knows her better than I know her — ish. But, congratulations, and I can’t wait to watch, or tape it — sleep in and watch, probably that — but congratulations, Mark.”
Watch the full speech (below):
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The producer announced back in February that he would be leaving the show, calling Kelly a “dear friend,” and crediting American Idol’s move to the West Coast as his main reason for departing. However, insiders revealed to Page Six that Ryan’s multiple gigs, which also include his radio show, On Air with Ryan Seacrest, left him exhausted for the morning show. This apparently created some “issues” between the co-hosts, but they were eventually able to put it all behind them:
“They’ve known each other for 20 years, and, regardless of recent strains, it is a real friendship.”
That was proven by Kelly’s goodbye comments. At the end of Friday’s show, she said:
“This has without question been the fastest six years of my life. And although you and I have been friends for decades and decades, I feel like I gained through this process a younger brother-slash-oldest son — which is the weirdest feeling. And I’m so grateful that our success together on this show has led to us developing an even closer, yet also codependent, relationship.”
She also gushed about her co-host, saying:
“For many years, Ryan’s ability to be the person featuring the talents of other people has been part of his job. But on our show, I feel like you got to show off your immeasurable talents to the world. I always jokingly referred to you an onion with all of these layers. but really, what you are is a blooming onion; you are layers upon layers of goodness, of kind, of charm… your generosity is unmatched.”
Aw! She finished:
“From the bottom of my heart, from the bottom of all our hearts, we just want to thank you for being wonderful, for being an original, authentic addition to this show. You are forever our family. We will never say goodbye to you. We will only say, ‘See you soon.’ “
See some footage from his final show (below):
So bittersweet! But we’re happy Ryan will be able to catch up on some rest, and we can’t WAIT to see Kelly and Mark’s married dynamic on Live with Kelly and Mark!
Thoughts on Ryan’s farewell, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments down below!
[Images via ABC/YouTube]
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