Big shoes to fill. Kelly Ripa continues her search for a cohost to replace Michael Strahan, and she auditioned Jimmy Fallon during an appearance on The Tonight Show Wednesday, September 21.
The morning host, 45, has been helming her ABC talk show with a series of guest stars including Anderson Cooper, Andy Cohen and Jerry O’Connell since the former New York Giants player left Live in May to join Good Morning America.
Fallon, 42, jokingly brought up the idea of teaming up the All My Children alum, saying, “I’m not doing anything in the mornings, and we do have a little chemistry.”
“We do have chemistry,” the mom of three agreed.
He then tried to prove how perfect they’d be together by playing Word Sneak with her while interviewing The Roots’ Questlove about his book Something to Food About.
Jimmy & @KellyRipa play Word Sneak with @questlove on “Jimmy & Kelly!” #FallonTonight pic.twitter.com/nLS9NSIiYI
— Fallon Tonight (@FallonTonight) September 22, 2016
As Us Weekly previously reported, Ripa was blindsided when Strahan, 44, announced in April that he would be leaving Live after four years to accept a full-time gig at GMA.
She took a sick day following the news and gave viewers a passionate speech about “respect in the workplace” when she returned to the studio.
In the weeks before the NFL star finally left Live, the pair’s fractured relationship was clear to see as she awkwardly brought up his two divorces on air, joked about contract negotiations and wore a jacket with the word “Freedom” on the back.
Strahan, who started at GMA earlier this month, told Fallon in an interview on September 7 that he is “loving” his new job.
