Michael Strahan Reveals That Leaving 'Live' Was Not Really His Choice And More!

Source: etonline.com

As you might know, before taking his co-host spot on Good Morning America, Michael Strahan was on Live with Kelly. Now, the man is opening up more as to why he left in 2016!

It turns out that it was not his choice to exchange Live for GMA!

The former football star’s exit left Kelly Ripa behind and she was not very happy about it at the time but now, Strahan is sharing his side of the story.

During a chat with The New York Times, he discussed his time working alongside Ripa as well as him leaving that talk show in favor of another similar gig.

Strahan explained that ‘On television, I have had jobs where I got there and I felt like, ‘Wow, I did not know I was supposed to be a sidekick.’ I thought that I was coming here to be a partner.’

When asked if he was talking about Live! With Kelly and Michael, he laughed and said that ‘It was an experience!’

As far as his departure is concerned, he also admitted that it ‘could have been handled better. I did not wake up and say, ‘I want a job at GMA.’ I was asked to do it by people who run the network. It was not a choice. It was a request. But it was treated like I was the guy who walked in and just said, ‘I am leaving.’ That part was misconstrued, totally mishandled in every way.’

When it comes to those responsible for the way his exit from the talk show was handled, the co-host noted that they’ve already apologized but still, the damage had been done already!

As for Ripa, Straham dished that while he was still on the show, he would attempt to have meetings with her regularly.

‘We met a few times, and that was totally fine. But then she said she did not need to meet. Cannot force somebody to do something they do not want to do. If people think, ‘Oh, he hates her’ — I do not hate her. I respect her for what she can do at her job. I can’t say enough about how good she is at her job. I just learned that you can’t convince people to like you.’

Finally, Strahan confessed that he and Ripa haven’t been in contact in a long time!