Live with Kelly and Ryan is losing Ryan Seacrest as a host, and the reason for his exit has been revealed by an insider for the show. Seacrest had missed a number of appearances on the daytime series due to exhaustion.

Mark Consuelos is taking over co-hosting duties alongside his wife, Kelly Ripa. He has guested with her when Seacrest has had to step back. Talks with Consuelos about taking over the role full-time reportedly began last summer.

Seacrest has co-hosted the daytime series since 2018 while continuing to host a daily radio show (in New York), American Idol (which shoots across the country and in Los Angeles), and the annual Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest (in New York). The insider said the following about the issues Seacrest caused by missing episodes of Live with Kelly and Ryan, per Page Six:

Some of Ryan’s absences created tension with everyone involved on the show. But everyone cares about him and respects him and just wants to make sure he’s OK. They started talking about Ryan leaving last summer, and when they announced Ryan’s departure, both Kelly and Ryan wanted to put whatever issues — arising from the workplace and Ryan’s other responsibilities — they had behind them. They’ve known each other for 20 years and, regardless of recent strains, it is a real friendship.

An associate of Seacret’s also reportedly spoke about the issues the host has faced:

“It’s not just Live. Ryan has to travel to audition cities for Idol — they just went to Hawaii. It’s exhausting.  It is hard doing Live every day. It’s a grueling schedule. There are double tapings and he runs between his radio show and Live. He’ll have a 10-minute break and they’ll say, ‘Come and do some one-liners for the radio show.’

He’s not quite burned out, but he knows himself [and knows] he needs a break. In the last couple of years he’s valued his time off with his family and his loved ones. Look, he originally signed up for three years [on Live] and then signed another three-year contract, so he really did enjoy doing the show.

He’s really interested in learning how to make wine, he has a passion for cooking, and this is the kind of thing he wants to invest in.”

American Idol returned to ABC for its 21st season last night. Seacrest will continue to appear on Live through the spring. A final appearance date has not been announced.

What do you think? Are you shocked by Seacrest’s exit from Live with Kelly and Ryan? Are you looking forward to seeing Consuelos and Ripa together full-time?