Kelly Ripa clearly has a lot of respect for her former co-host, Regis Philbin, who passed away earlier this year. Entertainment Tonight picked up on a preview clip of ABC News 20/20 special in which they commemorated Regis.
During her part of the interview, Kelly shared one of the most important things she ever learned from Regis, which was the significance of staying true to oneself and expressing it with authenticity. The television personality claimed it was crucial to “be yourself.”
As it was previously reported, Regis Philbin died at the beginning of July at 88. According to Ripa, Regis taught her it was crucial to stay authentic whether the cameras were on or not. “You have to be who you are,” Kelly explained.
[embed]https://twitter.com/GMA/status/1288086644420235264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw[/embed]Regarding how she found out about how he died, Ripa stated she felt it “had to be a mistake.” She found it hard to believe Regis had died. Kelly went on to say she even thought it could’ve been an incorrect report, and maybe it would later turn out to be untrue.
Regis was really good at making everyone on the program the star of the show, the host explained. Ripa also commemorated Regis during Monday’s episode of Live With Kelly and Ryan. She explained how there are certain things in life that are inevitable, specifically, death, but with Regis, it just seemed like he would find a way around it.
Furthermore, Ripa touched on his death once again in an Instagram post in which she explained how she and Ryan were very sad to hear the news. Kelly described him as a “class act” and his legacy would live on for a long time.
Fans of Ripa know she replaced Kathie Lee Gifford back in 2001. The show’s name changed to Live! With Regis and Kelly! Reportedly, they had some drama every now and then, however, they worked together for approximately a decade until Regis finally left in 2011.
Sources say they managed to keep in touch following his departure, and in many ways, their relationship got stronger because they no longer worked together.