'Live With Kelly' Co-Host Search: Kelly Ripa Admits Anderson Cooper 'Keeps Getting Away' [VIDEO]
Kelly Ripa considers Anderson Cooper the one that got away as she continues to search for a new Live! co-host.
It's no secret that Ripa and Cooper have had a close friendship over time, with the latter acting as her guest co-host on Live With Kelly for many years. Many believed Cooper to be in the running to be her potential new permanent co-host, considering his high standing in the entertainment world and his chemistry with Ripa.
Unfortunately for Ripa, though, it looks like she won't be getting to host with her longtime friend. Both Ripa and Cooper appeared on Watch What Happens Live Wednesday night and spoke about what was going on in Live!'s search for a co-host.
"Anderson re-signed with CNN, but he would have been your No. 1 pick, right Kelly?" Cohen asked Ripa, to which the daytime host responded, "He's my life. He really is. He's the one that got away and keeps getting away and gets away all the time."
The list of possible permanent co-hosts for Ripa continues to grow, even if Cooper's chances have diminished greatly.
"We really didn't set a timeframe for ourselves, we just wanted to wait until we found the right person," Ripa explained. "What we didn't anticipate was that we would have such an outpouring of interest, so our list got very long very quickly. So we've been trying to keep it as narrow as possible, but then people pop up."
There were reports in June that Cooper had actually wanted to do both his CNN show, Anderson Cooper 360, and Live!. But network executives at CNN and ABC were apparently wary of Cooper having to spend too much time at CNN for the Live! gig to really work out.
For now, Live With Kelly lives on, with no indication as to when a new permanent co-host will be announced (if ever).
