Kelly Ripa Not Invited To Regis Philbin’s Funeral Over ‘Bad Blood,’ Source Claims

While they may have worked together for over a decade, Kelly Ripa was reportedly not invited to Regis Philbin’s funeral. A source close to Philbin claimed that there was “bad blood” between the 49-year-old host of Live! With Kelly and Ryan and her former co-host in the years before he died, according to OK Magazine.

Philbin, who died on July 24, left Live! with Regis and Kelly in 2011, and rumors began to swirl that the two hosts didn’t get along. Those rumors were amplified by people like Howard Stern, who claimed to know that Ripa didn’t like Philbin and she was upset when he chose to leave the show without consulting her. Philbin himself admitted that Ripa was “offended” when he opted to retire.

“She got very offended when I left. She thought I was leaving because of her,” Philbin said a few years after retiring from the show. “I was leaving because I was getting older, and it wasn’t right for me anymore.”

Now, it appears the strained relationship is impacting the former soap star, even after Philbin passed.

“Kelly isn’t invited,” the insider told OK Magazine. “You have to understand the dynamic of their relationship. It was an on-air, not off-air, friendship—and towards the end (of their time on-air together), there was a lot of bad blood.”

While Ripa may not be invited, that doesn’t mean she won’t attend the services, which will take place at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Philbin is slated to be honored at his alma mater, the University of Notre Dame, and he will be buried at the nearby Cedar Grove Cemetery.

For her part, the current Live! co-host has had nothing but positive things to say about her former show partner. On the news of his passing, she called him a “class act” and expressed gratitude at being able to have had him as a mentor for so many years, as The Inquisitr previously reported.

Ripa got choked up on Monday while speaking about Philbin on air. She revealed that she was at home with her family when she got the news of his passing and was saddened.

“As people get older you always know that certain things are inevitable, but Regis was one of the people who we all believed would figure out a way around the inevitable. It was not in the cards, I suppose. It was announced that he will be buried at his beloved Notre Dame which I just know means the world to him. So many people, like you Ryan, reached out to me and said, ‘You’re the first person I thought of,’ but I have to tell you, the first person I thought of was Joy, and Johanna and Jay Jay his daughters. I thought of the girls and then I thought of Kathie Lee [Gifford]. Those were, I always say, Regis’ core four. The ladies.

He had this incredible partnership with Kathie Lee and of course his wife and daughters who are essentially my age. I’m one year older than them. We used to talk about what it was like to have a funny dad. My dad is funny, not Regis funny, but he’s funny. Having a funny dad makes you funny. It just makes you funny. It makes you appreciate the ludicrous side of things. So I immediately thought of them and what it must feel like to somehow he couldn’t find a way to live forever that we all assumed or thought he would, or should or somehow, God would give a special ticket for him.”

An emotional Ripa went on to recall what a good relationship Philbin had with her children.