Michael Strahan Says He's 'Excited' for Kelly Ripa's Return to 'Live!'

By
This video is unavailable because we were unable to load a message from our sponsors.

If you are using ad-blocking software, please disable it and reload the page.

Michael Strahan prepared Live! With Kelly and Michaelviewers for Kelly Ripa's Tuesday return to the daytime talk show.

"Good morning everybody! Everybody is fired up!" he said on Monday's Live! "Kelly had a scheduled day off to celebrate her 20th wedding anniversary with her husband Mark [Consuelos]. She is going to be back tomorrow which we are all excited about!"


WATCH: Regis Philbin on Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan Drama -- They Should Have Told Her Sooner

Pretty Little Liars star Shay Mitchell filled in for Ripa, who has not been on the show since it was announced that Strahan would be leaving Live! in September to take a full-time position on Good Morning America.

ET confirmed that on Friday night, Ripa sent an email to the Live! staff in appreciation of their support. "(Sorry for this late Friday night email). I wanted to thank you all for giving me the time to process this new information," Ripa's letter reads. "Your kindness, support and love has overwhelmed me. We are a family and I look forward to seeing you all on Tuesday morning. Love, Kelly."


EXCLUSIVE: Oprah Winfrey on Kelly Ripa's Reaction to Michael Strahan Departure News -- 'Nobody Should Ever Be Blindsided'

The email came not long after a source told ET that Ripa was giving herLive! co-workers "radio-silence," with many questioning whether she'd be willing to sit next to Strahan again. In fact, another source revealed that Ripa, 45, felt "betrayed" after being "blindsided" by the news of Strahan's departure.

"She put her neck out for Michael to be a part of the show four years ago," the latter source told ET. "She is actually miserable with the show, has been for a while now...They have not [been] getting along that well recently, but this [takes] the cake."