Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window) 
 
 Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) 
 
 Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) 
 
 Kelly Ripa had a “total meltdown” after getting blindsided by the sudden departure of her “Live” co-host, Michael Strahan — spitefully calling out “sick” on Wednesday from their ABC morning talk show. 
 
 “Kelly sees this as the ultimate betrayal,” one insider told Page Six. 
 
 “There’s been a total Ripa meltdown,” said another. 
 
 The petite blond spitfire was livid to have learned the day before — after Tuesday’s “Live with Kelly and Michael” taping — that Strahan will ditch her come September to join “Good Morning America” full-time. 
 
 Neither Strahan, the former Giants football star who has been her co-host for four years, nor network brass gave Ripa advance notice of his departure, sources said. The personnel change was announced publicly soon after Ripa and the show’s executive producer, Michael Gelman, were told by brass. 
 
 Ripa called out sick on Tuesday night, leaving staff scrambling to find a replacement co-host. “Saturday Night Live” alum Ana Gasteyer filled in at Strahan’s side Wednesday. 
 
 “Kelly didn’t want to show up to work and mouth off and say something she would have regretted,” explained another insider. “She is upset and didn’t want to take it out on her own staff.” 
 
 Ripa will be out until at least next Tuesday. 
 
 “Dancing with the Stars” host and Fox sports reporter Erin Andrews subbed on Thursday. Andrews will also appear on Friday’s show, which was already scheduled to be taped Thursday. 
 
 “Pretty Little Liars” star Shay Mitchell is to co-host with Strahan on Monday. 
 
 “Some of [Kelly’s days off] may have been planned before the news broke,” a third network source said. “[The show] is dark on Friday, so there’s no show anyway, and I had heard that Kelly already planned to be off on Monday.” 
 
 “She didn’t show up for work and isn’t taking anyone’s calls,” a source said. 
 
 Ripa’s sudden sick-out left Strahan holding the bag with viewers. 
 
 “Kelly’s off today,” Strahan began at the top of Wednesday’s show. “I’ve been in the news lately,” the popular ex-NFL star acknowledged. 
 
 “I’m leaving this show to go over to ‘GMA’ full-time, which is going to happen in September,” he added. 
 
 He consoled the groaning studio audience. 
 
 “It’s the same channel!” he said. “I’m not going anywhere. I was reading some stuff that sounded like I died!” 
 
 He added, “I’ve worked with an incredible staff here, and I’m always here. I’m always available to guest co-host if I get a call because I consider myself to be a part of this family forever.” 
 
 The network’s fumbling of the job change left insiders scratching their heads. 
 
 “The plan was for there to be more time between telling Kelly and the announcement,” one source told Page Six. “But the story leaked, and the timeline got crunched.” 
 
 And while one insider derided Ripa’s sick-out as “classic diva behavior,” others thought she was justified in staging a brief, one-woman strike. 
 
 “You work on a show for 15 years and all of a sudden you’re not even told about this seismic change?” was how one put it. 
 
 Without Ripa at his side, Strahan had to address his first on-air farewell to the cameras. 
 
 “I really want to thank, of course, Kelly Ripa,” he said at the end of Wednesday’s show, to applause from the studio audience. 
 
 “Kelly welcomed me here, and I’ve learned so much from her, and she’s just been an amazing influence on me,” he said. “This has truly changed my life to be here with her . . . Kelly, I thank you. I love you.” 
 
 When asked to comment on Ripa’s absence, a “Live” spokesperson said only, “Kelly had the day off today.” 
 
 Sources have told Page Six that Ripa’s close pal, CNN’s Anderson Cooper, is the front-runner to replace Strahan. 
 
 Additional reporting by Emily Smith and Laura Italiano ||||| Kelly Ripa is still “pretty pissed off” about Michael Strahan’s Tuesday announcement that he was departing Live! With Kelly and Michael to go full-time at Good Morning America, according to a source on the set of the daytime talk show. 
 
 Ripa skipped Wednesday’s taping of the show after Strahan revealed that he’d be leaving, and the source told ET that the 45-year-old co-host has “threatened to not come back until Michael leaves,” adding that the production staff is still unsure of her status for the rest of the week. 
 
 Variety’s Debra Birnbaum reported on Wednesday that ABC said Ripa will not return until “next Tuesday at the earliest.” 
 
 ABC confirms that Kelly Ripa won’t be back on #LiveWithKellyandMichael until next Tuesday at the earliest. — Debra Birnbaum (@debrabirnbaum) April 20, 2016 
 
 EXCLUSIVE: Kelly Ripa Skips 'Live!' Appearance After Feeling 'Blindsided' by Michael Strahan's Exit Announcement 
 
 ET’s source went on to say that Ripa was blindsided by the news of her Strahan's departure, and feels “betrayed,” as she is also not happy on Live!. 
 
 “She put her neck out for Michael to be a part of the show four years ago,” the source added. “She is actually miserable with the show, has been for a while now...They have not [been] getting along that well recently, but this [takes] the cake.” 
 
 WATCH: Michael Strahan vs. Kelly Ripa and 8 Other Celebs Who Didn't Get Along on Set 
 
 Strahan co-hosted Wednesday’s show with Saturday Night Live alum Ana Gasteyer, and addressed the elephant in the room during the taping, another source explained to ET. 
 
 "Michael said during the break that it was 'a hard day' for everyone," the source recalled. "Michael was positive, professional and graceful throughout the shooting." 
 
 See more about the co-hosts' dispute in the video below. 
 
 EXCLUSIVE: Michael Strahan Calls Dramatic 'Live!' Taping a 'Hard Day' for Everyone ||||| Oprah Kelly Ripa Shouldn't Have Been Told That Way 
 
 Oprah -- Kelly Ripa Shouldn't Have Been Told That Way (VIDEO) 
 
 EXCLUSIVE 
 
 Oprah Winfrey was shocked that Kelly Ripa was blindsided by the big announcement Michael Strahan's leaving her, and the queen thinks it's just plain wrong. 
 
 Oprah didn't know the details, so our photog clued her in Wednesday at the premiere of her OWN drama "Greenleaf" at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center. 
 
 Winfrey is clear ... Kelly should have been treated more respectfully. She's happy, though, for Michael, although she says he's in for a big surprise. ||||| Kelly Ripa She Won't/Can't Leave 'Live' It's a Money Thing 
 
 Kelly Ripa Won't/Can't Leave 'Live': It's a Money Thing 
 
 EXCLUSIVE 
 
 Kelly Ripa may be saber-rattling -- boycotting the show and even threatening to leave -- but sources connected with the production don't believe she's going anywhere, because of her paycheck and her spending habits. 
 
 As we reported, Kelly has been beside herself with anger after getting blindsided by ABC's announcement that Michael Strahan is leaving 'Live' for 'GMA.' If she's not back in the chair Thursday, she won't be back until Tuesday at the earliest. 
 
 Our sources say ABC brass isn't worried that Ripa will bail on the show. We're told she makes just shy of $15 million a year, and her lifestyle eats up most of it. Kelly and hubby Mark bought a big townhouse on the Upper East Side of NYC a year ago, and they have a mansion in The Hamptons. 
 
 As one source put it, "She makes a lot of money, but she spends a lot of money, and so does he." ||||| FILE - In this Oct. 12, 2015 file photo, Kelly Ripa, left, poses with Michael Strahan, her co-host on the daily television talk show "LIVE! with Kelly and Michael," during a ceremony honoring Ripa with... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Oct. 12, 2015 file photo, Kelly Ripa, left, poses with Michael Strahan, her co-host on the daily television talk show "LIVE! with Kelly and Michael," during a ceremony honoring Ripa with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles. Ripa was absent from her daytime talk show Wednesday,... (Associated Press) 
 
 NEW YORK (AP) — Kelly Ripa was absent from her daytime talk show the day after the announcement that co-host Michael Strahan is leaving, and she won't be back for the next few days, either. 
 
 ABC said Wednesday that Ripa won't host the next three editions of "Live with Kelly and Michael." 
 
 Ripa's unexplained absence came amid published reports that she felt blindsided and angered by Strahan's departure to join "Good Morning America" fulltime. She hasn't said that herself, and her spokeswoman, Lauren Auslander, did not immediately return messages inquiring about Ripa's whereabouts. 
 
 Ripa will be replaced on Thursday's show by Erin Andrews, said Barbara Warren, show spokeswoman, who did not say why Ripa will be out. 
 
 Ripa had planned to tape Friday's show on Thursday and go on vacation Friday through Monday. Warren did not say when Ripa will return. 
 
 There could be some awkwardness when she returns: Strahan's transition plan announced Tuesday didn't have him starting fulltime on "GMA" until September. 
 
 Actress Ana Gasteyer was a last-minute replacement for Ripa on Wednesday. Strahan, who mentioned his upcoming departure to the studio audience at "Live with Kelly and Michael," noted that he'd be a neighbor — "Good Morning America" airs directly before "Live" in most parts of the country. 
 
 "I was reading some stuff and it sounded like I had died," he said. "It's not a eulogy, people." 
 
 The former football star's exit has also revived rumors that ABC is considering expanding the two-hour "Good Morning America," which is first in the ratings but is losing viewers. The competing "Today" show on NBC airs for four hours. 
 
 Later in Wednesday's show, Strahan made a point of thanking Ripa, who welcomed him to the show in 2012 when he replaced Regis Philbin and taught him much about TV. 
 
 "Kelly, I thank you, I love you and everyone else here at 'Live,'" Strahan said.
– Kelly Ripa's anger has apparently yet to fade. After skipping out on Wednesday's Live! With Kelly and Michael following news that co-host Michael Strahan will abandon her for Good Morning America in September, ABC says Ripa will also miss shows airing Thursday and Friday. She had planned to film both episodes Thursday, then go on vacation until Tuesday. Erin Andrews will now fill in for the two shows this week with actress Shay Mitchell co-hosting on Monday, reports Page Six. A show rep won't say when exactly Ripa will be back, per the AP, and a source on set tells Entertainment Tonight that she's "threatened to not come back until Michael leaves." But TMZ is throwing cold water on rumors that Ripa is planning to abandon the show, too, noting she can't afford it. Despite pulling in $15 million a year, "her lifestyle eats up most of it," the site says. At least Ripa can take solace in the fact that Oprah has her back. The former talk show host tells TMZ that "she should not have found out that way."