EXCLUSIVE: Kelly Ripa did NOT skip Robin Roberts’ wedding because she ‘can’t be in the same room’ as ex Live co-host Michael Strahan

Insiders tell DailyMail.com that Kelly Ripa didn’t ‘skip’ Robin Roberts’ wedding to Amber Laign because of her ex-co-host Michael Strahan.

It was reported that Ripa, 52, missed the beautiful backyard wedding in Connecticut because she couldn’t be in the same room as Strahan, 51, who retired from hosting Live! With Kelly and Michael in 2016, amid rumors of tension between the couple.

However, a source has told DailyMail.com that the report is “completely false” and offers a more plausible explanation as to why Ripa was not at the event.

“Kelly wasn’t there because she was on the West Coast with her husband Mark Consuelos, where he was attending the Mexican Independence Day Parade and Festival.

The source added that Kelly “has been in the same room as Strahan many times – neither of them are avoiding each other.” This is wrong.’

Good Morning America’s host Robin Roberts tied the knot with her longtime partner Amber Laign on Friday with a fun weekend reception.

The two radiant brides were married in their backyard in Connecticut, with Roberts’ children’s pastor officiating the ceremony.

Rumors that Ripa missed the event due to Strahan’s presence were reported by The US Sun.

The publication claimed that a source insisted that “Kelly refuses to be in the same room as Michael” and “won’t be anywhere near him.”

Ripa told me earlier Variety that she was ‘blindsided’ by his abrupt decision to leave Live! for a spot on Good Morning America.

At the time, multiple publications reported that she was “furious” when she heard the news, just minutes before the rest of the world.

In 2020, Strahan hinted at tensions between himself and his former co-host during an interview with the channel New York Times.

Without explicitly naming Kelly or their show, the football player turned television personality said he worked in previous jobs where he “got there and realized it wasn’t about the team.” It’s selfish, and I don’t function well in that.’

“I’ve had jobs where I got there and thought, wow, I didn’t know I had to be a sidekick. I thought I was coming here to be a partner,” the father of four told the outlet.

The former New York Giants defensive end also alluded to trying to heal tensions between himself and the former soap opera star when they worked together.

“One thing I tried to do was meet with her every few weeks,” he said.

“We met a few times, and it was fine. But in the end she said she didn’t need to meet. You can’t force someone to do something they don’t want to do.’

And while he openly admits the tensions, Strahan also said he learned from Ripa.

“If you look at the show, it hasn’t really changed since Regis started the thing. He created this formula. It’s kind of plug and play. You learn how to create a story. ‘What did you do last night?’, ‘Oh, I had a glass of water.’ But you learn to tell the story in such a way that it looks like a glass of water,” he said.

‘Those are things I learned from her. She’s brilliant that way. If people think, oh, he hates her, then I don’t hate her. I respect her for what she can do in her job. I can’t say enough about how good she is at her job.”

Strahan took Live! from a retired Regis Philbin in 2012, before leaving for Good Morning America in 2016.

But Michael wasn’t happy with the way his departure was handled, suggesting many believe he quit rather than just letting the network influence him.

“I was asked to do (GMA) by the people who run the network. It really wasn’t a choice. It was a request,” he said.

“But I was treated as if I was the guy who came in and said, ‘I’m leaving.’ That part was completely misinterpreted and mishandled in every respect.”

“People who should have handled it better have all apologized, but a lot of the damage had already been done.”

Meanwhile, Ripa continued to host Live solo from 2016-2017, with Ryan Seacrest being moved to Michael’s spot in 2017.

In April, Ripa’s husband, Mark Consuelos, took over the job from Seacrest.

Ripa has been hosting Live since 2001, a role she won through an audition process.

In March, she told Variety that she “had a really hard time” at first and insisted on an office to have some privacy.

Despite seeing empty office spaces in the building, where she could have easily slipped into to make a phone call, leave her bag and put away her paperwork, Ripa was told that was not the case.

She added that she was told the empty office spaces were reserved for executives visiting from Los Angeles.

Four years later, in 2005, she got a janitor’s closet that they cleared out and put in a desk.

It was clearly a way to keep her ego in check.

She thought she would finally get her own office when her costar Regis — who died in 2020 — retired in 2011.

But that didn’t happen.

Instead of her inheriting Philbin’s spacious office, it remained empty.

“They said, ‘Oh no, we’ll keep that.’ And I said, “Save it for what?” she noted.

‘And they say, “Well, for when the new guy comes.” And I looked at them and said, ‘I’m the new guy,'” she said.

Kelly was not allowed to take over the office. So instead she pushed her way in.

“All those offices that weren’t available to me were suddenly made available (to others), with the walls torn down to make them twice as big,” she added.

“It was fascinating for me to see: the need to make the new guy feel comfortable and respected, but I couldn’t use those offices,” she said.

“I had to use the broom closet.”

And if she needed to use the bathroom, she had to go into the main bathroom where the audience was led.

“We have a studio audience – about 250 people! – and I have to stand in line,” she explained.

‘Especially when I was pregnant, it was extremely tiring to have to queue.

“I have to present the show and I’m still queuing to go to the toilet,” she said. “It just seemed like a really unnecessarily difficult situation.”