The Truth About Kelly Ripa And Regis Philbin’s Relationship

For years it was rumored that Kelly Ripa and Regis Philbin didn’t have the best relationship off-screen, despite a decade of chummy appearances co-hosting “Live! With Regis and Kelly.”

Now, six years after Philbin parted ways with the morning talk show, Ripa is speaking out about the true nature of their off-camera relationship, revealing they didn’t really have one.

“Regis had a mandate: Absolutely no talking off-camera,” Ripa told New York Times. “He had almost a superstition about it. You save it for the show. I’d be like, ‘Good morning,’ and he’d say, ‘Save it for the air!’”

It doesn’t appear Philbin and Ripa’s relationship fared any better after he left the program in 2011. During a sit-down with Larry King in February, Philbin admitted he and Ripa don’t speak. “Not really, no,” he said when asked if they still keep in touch.

Philbin added that at the time, he had also not been invited back for a cameo on the talk show, despite guest starring in a October 2015 episode. He was, however, noticeably absent from Ripa’s televised “Live!” 15th anniversary celebration in 2016.

“Never once did they ask me to go back,” Philbin told King. “[Kelly] got very offended when I left. She thought I was leaving because of her… I was leaving because I was getting older and it wasn’t right for me anymore.”

More recently, Ripa was also rumored to have avoided bumping into Philbin at a party for “Live!” producer Michael Gelman’s wife in July.

With Ryan Seacrest now filling the role Philbin once held, Ripa to New York Times things are a lot different behind-the-scenes. The two co-hosts not only socialize off-camera, they also frequently text and hang out together when the camera’s are not rolling.