Regis Philbin And Kelly Ripa Have Barely Spoken To Each Other Since He Left ‘Live!’

In an interview on Larry King Now, Regis Philbin discussed his broken relationship with his Live! with Regis and Kelly co-host Kelly Ripa. When asked if they keep in contact, Philbin replied, “Not really. No. No.”

Live! has taken on many iterations over the years. It began as The Morning Show, hosted by Philbin and Cyndy Garvey, in 1983, before debuting in national syndication as Live with Regis and Kathie Lee in 1988. For much of 2000, after Kathie Lee Gifford left, the show paired Philbin with numerous celebrity guests, including Whoopi Goldberg and Rosie O’Donnell, before settling on a permanent co-host: Kelly Ripa. Live! with Regis and Kelly earned the youthful exclamation point: ratings skyrocketed, and Regis and Kelly had an entertaining respected father/enthusiastic daughter chemistry. But in 2011, Philbin left the show, reportedly because he was “tired of the daily grind, the early hours, and wanted an easier life.” That’s not how Ripa took it.

“She got very offended when I left,” Philbin told fellow old man personality King. “She thought I was leaving because of her. I was leaving because I was getting older and that wasn’t right for me anymore.” Did Ripa take his departure personal? “Yeah, I think so.” As for whether Philbin would return to hosting duties, he said, “I don’t know. How often would it be? Would it be every night? Every day? I do miss it. There are times when I really miss it and wish I’d never stopped. But, you know, I just figured it was time to let go.”

This is almost as bad as his beef with the Wu-Tang Clan.