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Kelly Ripa New Co-Host Announcement Expected Soon, Jerry O’Connell Drops Hints

By Niki Cruz
Published on: 02:25 PST, Aug 24, 2016

Kelly Ripa’s new co-host is expected to be announced very soon. Since Michael Strahan announced that he was leaving Live! in April, many had wondered who Kelly Ripa and company would choose as his replacement. There have been a lot of names circling the co-host chair, such as Andy Cohen, Anderson Cooper, Rob Lowe, and Fred Savage.

While curiosity about Kelly Ripa’s new co-host seems to be mounting with each passing week, Ripa, for the most part, has stayed mum on who her possible co-host might be. That said, she’s had praises for her guest co-hosts who have rotated since Michael Strahan left in late May for a job at Good Morning America.

Insiders said that Kelly Ripa was excited to have Anderson Cooper on board as a possible new co-host. Back in April, an inside source said that she had her sights on Anderson Cooper to be by her side, even before Michael Strahan was picked to replace Regis Philbin, according to People Magazine.

“When Regis [Philbin] left, the person Kelly wanted more than anyone else was Anderson Cooper, but he was busy launching his own talk show. Now that he’d be free, she would love it to be him.”

That said, Kelly Ripa’s new co-host is still up in the air. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Ripa and ABC had to choose a suitable replacement in mid-August for an official September start, but nothing official has been announced by producers. Since we’re nearing September, said announcement is bound to come any minute now.

It seems as though any celeb previously attached to the gig is a more likely choice. While people have been excited about the possibility of seeing the likes of Rob Lowe and Fred Savage back on their TV, there’s one name who has managed to work his way into the gossip about the position for months now — and that’s Jerry O’Connell.

Jerry O’Connell has been making the rounds as a possible choice as Kelly Ripa’s new co-host for months now, and unlike other stars rumored to circulate the gig, he’s willing to talk about it. He was able to join Kelly Ripa for Live! earlier in the month, and seemed very pleased with the possible gig and even had praises for Ripa as a partner in crime.

“I would do anything Kelly asks. She is the sweetest … I loved hosting with her. I’m in awe of her,” he told Extra. He even gushed about how she manages to balance the gig and being a full-time parent to her children, something that O’Connell seemed to admire about Ripa.

“She has it all figured out as a parent. It’s incredible to see how she’s found balance with career, marriage, and parenthood,” he said.

Check out their undeniable chemistry below.

https://youtu.be/o90qkQYnLIs

This isn’t the first time Jerry O’Connell had kind words for Ripa. Back in May when people were picking sides after Michael Strahan’s ugly exit, which resulted in Kelly fleeing her job for a Turks and Caicos getaway with her family, O’Connell voiced his opinion on whether he was Team Strahan or Team Ripa. In what might have been an intentional move to stake his claim as the new co-host, O’Connell told Us Weekly that he was “Team Kelly.”

“To get to work next to Kelly Ripa would be anyone’s dream in that field. Kelly is the best of the best… Having worked with her there at Live, Kelly is the best. I’m always Team Kelly.”

With that kind of enthusiasm, it’s easy to see Jerry O’Connell as the perfect pick to sit next to Kelly Ripa permanently at Live!

Who do you think Kelly Ripa’s new co-host will be?

[Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File]

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