WHEN WILL KELLY RIPA RETURN TO 'LIVE'? TALK SHOW STAR TO MISS ENTIRE WEEK OF EPISODES AFTER DISCUSSING RETIREMENT
Kelly Ripa is showing fans what Live would be like without her as she enjoys a well-deserved summer break after discussing a potential retirement last month.
The daytime talk show star was again absent from Live with Kelly and Mark's ABC studio on Tuesday, August 5, as guest Jenna Dewan filled in for Ripa alongside Mark Consuelos.
Ripa — who skipped Live's Monday, August 4, broadcast — is scheduled to miss the remainder of episodes this week, though it's unclear when exactly she will return from her brief summer break. Fortunately, fans shouldn't have to worry, as she is known to go on a short hiatus from hosting around this time every year.
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos Miss Consecutive Weeks of 'Live'
Ripa's time off immediately followed her husband's four-episode absence last week.
Consuelos had been replaced by guest hosts Jerry O'Connell, David Muir, Carson Kressley and Steve Patterson from Tuesday, July 29, through Friday, August 1, as the Riverdale actor was "working on a show out in L.A."
When returning to Live on Monday, however, Ripa was no where to be found. He instead co-hosted the show alongside Nobody Wants This actress Jackie Tohn.
While Ripa had provide a short explanation about Consuelos' whereabouts, her spouse didn't detail where is wife was upon his return.
Is Kelly Ripa Leaving 'Live'?
Ripa's hosting break comes after she got candid about whether she should throw in the towel for good last month.
Speaking to pal Oprah Winfrey during the Wednesday, July 16, episode of the Hope & Faith actress' "Let's Talk Off Camera Podcast," Ripa questioned if she should consider retirement ahead of her 25th anniversary of hosting Live.
"I've been at the talk show now for 25 years, so, I'm asking for a friend: How did you know it was time to step away?" Ripa asked Winfrey — who strongly suggested her friend didn't quit just yet.
Winfrey responded: "If I were advising you, I would say absolutely not, because you and Mark are in a groove. And that groove continues to work."
"Do not do it," The Color Purple star declared. "Don't even consider it, because I feel that the reach that you have, the audience that you've built, the family that you've created — both inside the studio and in the rest of the world — is really more vital and important now than ever before."
Part of Ripa agreed with Winfrey, as she understands fans look to her talk show as a source of entertainment and comfort — especially those who are watching from hospital beds or medical centers.
"When you host a talk show or a talk show like ours, where we don't really cover heavy topics, it is appointment viewing in all of those chemotherapy labs and all of those rooms where people receive their treatments, because it's not anxiety-inducing," Ripa explained. "And so I have to remember that when I'm thinking, 'Is it time? Is it time?' … that there are certain people that I will never know who count on me right now, who are counting on me. And counting on the show."
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2025-08-05T21:00:35Z