Maria Menounos Is Allegedly Gunning for Kelly Ripa’s ‘Live!’ Job: “It’s Not a Secret”

When Maria Menounos was asked to step in for Kelly Ripa on Live! With Kelly and Ryan earlier this month, viewers seemingly loved seeing her on the hit morning show. Recently, Kelly was criticized by an online hater for taking too many vacation days and now, according to Life & Style, the host might be at risk of being replaced by Maria. 

“It’s not a secret that hosting Live! is Maria’s dream job. Especially with her good pal Ryan Seacrest in the co-host chair,” an insider recently told Life & Style in the magazine’s latest issue, on newsstands now. Maria’s recent co-host stint on the series was far from the first time she’s filled in for Kelly. In January 2018, Maria took over for the morning show host when she couldn’t make it to the studio — and she did such an excellent job that fans raved about her appearance on Twitter.

“I’d watch every day if it were Live! With Maria and Ryan,” one fan previously wrote and another similarly added, “You’re 100 percent better than Kelly.” But Kelly allegedly wasn’t pleased that another woman was seemingly gunning for her job, especially after being hurt by Michael Strahan when he unexpectedly left Live! for Good Morning America. 

During a March 2018 interview, Michael confessed that he did everything he could to transition between the two morning shows with grace. “I handled it as professional as you can handle it,” he said. “I have been a professional from day one there to the last day I left. I had the opportunity to do something that most people don’t — I get a chance to evolve; to do different, creative things.”

Since Michael left, Kelly has reportedly been making sure that she’s constantly in the loop at ABC. “Kelly has her spies on set, and while she knows she’s integral to the show, ABC has screwed her over in the past,” an insider revealed. “Let’s just put it this way: Kelly’s keeping a close eye on the situation.”