After being "livid" by the news that her "LIVE! With Kelly and Michael" co-host Michael Strahan would be leaving the show at the end of the summer, Kelly Ripa took a week off from the morning talk show but will return to the show on Tuesday.
Since Ripa took a leave of absence, the former NFL star has been joined by guest co-hosts Ana Gasteyer, Erin Andrews and Shay Mitchell, but Strahan said he was "excited" that Ripa would finally be returning.
On Monday's episode of the ABC talk show, Strahan announced that Ripa "had a scheduled day off to celebrate her 20th anniversary" with her husband Mark Consuelos and their children.
"She's going to be back tomorrow, which we are all excited about," he added.
Last week, Strahan dropped a bombshell on Ripa and the world when he announced he would be leaving "LIVE" for a full-time hosting gig at another one of ABC's morning programs, "Good Morning America" starting in September. Ripa was informed of the shakeup when she was called into a meeting after the Monday, April 18 episode of "LIVE" where she was told the news that Strahan would be leaving. Ripa was apparently not informed about the decision beforehand and heard about it at the same time that everyone at ABC did.
On Friday, Ripa sent an email to the show's staff in which she explained her absence.
"(Sorry for this late Friday night email)," she said in the email. "I wanted to thank you all for giving me the time to process this new information. Your kindness, support, and love has overwhelmed me. We are a family and I look forward to seeing you all on Tuesday morning. Love, Kelly."
While Strahan may have gotten pulled into all the drama surrounding his leaving the show, he never meant to upset his co-host.
"He never wanted any of this to happen," a source said. "He got why she was mad but it was out of his control. He spent the last few days reaching out because he wanted her to come back."
"He was prepared to go on by himself if he had to, but he is relieved that it all worked out," the source added.
