Ryan Seacrest’s time sitting next to Kelly Ripa is about to come to an end. The Live with Kelly and Ryan co-host is stepping away after six years, with Ripa’s husband Mark Consuelos stepping in as his replacement. Ripa said she had big plans for “hazing” the American Idol host on his way out — with his final episode set to air Friday, April 14 — but what caused Seacrest to decide to leave the show in the first place, making way for Ripa's husband to come on board?
When news broke that Ryan Seacrest was leaving Live with Kelly and Ryan, the decision had already been made to have Mark Consuelos step in as his permanent replacement. In fact, Seacrest’s exit has apparently been a long time coming, as he admitted on the show that he’d stayed far longer than originally planned. He remembered speaking to both Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos about only doing the show for about three years. During a tearful segment of Live, he recalled:
