Two years after his highly controversial exit from “Live,” Michael Strahan is opening up about his decision to leave and why he doesn’t have any regrets about the way things went down with Kelly Ripa.
Speaking to Graham Bensinger, the 46-year-old former Super Bowl champion and Emmy-winning TV star discussed his abrupt exit from “Live” and his decision to join the cast of “Good Morning America” full time.
"There's nothing I would have done differently," he told the host. "I handled it as professional as you can handle it and I have been a professional from day one there to the last day I left… I had the opportunity to do something that most people don't — I got a chance to evolve; to do different, creative things."
As previously reported, Strahan announced in 2016 that he was leaving “Live” after four consecutive years of co-hosting alongside Kelly Ripa, who is on her 17th year hosting the show.
Ripa only found out about Strahan’s choice to leave mere minutes before it was announced on air. This reportedly caused friction on the set, prompting Ripa to take time off for a few days immediately following the news. Eventually she would return and Ryan Seacrest would take over the role.
Strahan moved on to “GMA” almost immediately after, and to this day he’s still frustrated at those who question why he’d change jobs after just four years.
"A lot of people think, ‘Oh why would he leave?'...I don't wanna do that forever! No! People get so complacent. It makes me sick that someone [says], ‘You got a good job, you just got to keep it.’"
In the same interview, the father of four noted that he doesn’t plan on being on TV forever. He said that his goal is to retire once his kids are in college so that he can have a free schedule and live his life.