“I had to step away—there was no other choice” – Kelly Ripa’s SUDDEN ABSENCE from “Live With Kelly & Mark” sends FANS INTO A FRENZY as whispers of a shocking personal decision collide with rumors of behind-the-scenes drama no one saw coming

Kelly Ripa isn’t in her chair this week—and the reason has viewers asking questions no one expected. While Jenna Dewan and Jackie Tohn step in as guest cohosts, speculation is swirling like wildfire. Is it a family emergency? A health scare? Or something bigger happening behind closed doors at one of daytime TV’s most iconic sets? The silence from Ripa’s camp is only fueling the fire, and even insiders admit they’ve never seen tension this high.

Find out the truth that has fans glued to their screens—read the full story now before the next twist drops.

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Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos on ‘Live With Kelly and Mark’

Why isn’t Kelly Ripa on Live With Kelly and Mark this week? Even morning TV’s fiercest warriors need a break, it seems.

The daytime icon will sit out morning broadcasts of Live, as the popular personality typically takes a short leave from the long-running talk show every summer.

Ripa’s absence began Monday, with Nobody Wants This actress Jackie Tohn filling in as guest cohost alongside Ripa’s husband, Mark Consuelos.

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Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos

On Tuesday, actress Jenna Dewan presided over the episode with Consuelos, with a roster of fill-in hosts taking up the reins in Ripa’s absence throughout the remainder of the week.

In addition to her post on Live, Ripa has had a busy year filled with other projects, including her successful Let’s Talk Off Camera podcast as well as her recent non-Live TV endeavor with Consuelos.

The couple, who’ve been married for nearly 30 years after meeting on the set of the soap opera All My Children, premiered their four-part docuseries Running With the Wolves in July, with the ESPN show chronicling their domestic life as well as their co-ownership of the Italian Campobasso soccer team.

Ripa, who first joined Live as a permanent cohost alongside the late Regis Philbin in 2001, has remained with the show amid a revolving door of cohosts through the years, including Michael Strahan and Ryan Seacrest.

Seacrest left the show in 2023, with Consuelos joining Ripa full-time beginning later that year.

Ripa has long suggested that her time on Live might be coming to an end in the years ahead, and even asked fellow talk show icon Oprah Winfrey for advice on the gnawing thought that she should walk away soon.

“I’ve been at the talk show now for 25 years, so, I’m asking for a friend: How did you know it was time to step away?” Ripa asked Winfrey on a recent episode of Let’s Talk Off Camera.

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Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos at the ‘Running With the Wolves’ premiere

“First of all, it’s not time for you to step away. And I, if I were advising you, I would say absolutely not, because you and Mark are in a groove. And that groove continues to work,” Winfrey replied.

In an earlier interview with Entertainment Weekly before Consuelos took his new post, Ripa admitted that she’d considered retiring ahead of the new venture.

“It’s so funny. Every time you get a new cohost, it’s like a little jolt of energy,” she said at the time. “But to be clear, I am always thinking about retiring [laughs]. It is my favorite topic of discussion.”

Live With Kelly and Mark airs weekdays in syndication. Check your local listings for showtimes in your area.