Ryan Seacrest said goodbye to daytime TV on Friday as his final episode of Live aired.
Seacrest and co-host Kelly Ripa got emotional as Seacrest’s tenure on the series concluded after six seasons. Time flies, right?
Ripa said that it was “a great day of celebration.”
“Ever since you announced you were leaving the show, spring has never been better in New York,” Ripa joked.
“I’ve been in love with you, but now everyone is in love with you,” Ripa later added.
“You’ve given us a lot of laughs around here, but over the past six years, you’ve given us more than just laughs,” Ripa said before speaking about them being there for each other.
“I, for one, have grown accustomed to seeing your face every morning.”
“This has been without question the best six years of my life, and although we have been friends for decades, I feel like I’ve gained through this process a younger brother slash oldest son — that’s how I feel about you, it’s the weirdest thing,” she added.
“I’m so grateful that our success together on this show has led to us developing an even closer yet codependent relationship,” Ripa said, adding that Seacrest will forever be a part of her family.
“You are forever our family. We will never say goodbye to you, we will only say see you soon, and I love you,” she concluded.
Seacrest said that he was “lucky” to have worked with Ripa, but felt like it was “hard to put into words” how thankful he is.
“It’s not lost on me how fortunate I am to have this seat next to you, Kell, for six years,” he said.
“I’m honored to be part of this family. I’m blessed with so many memories … I will cherish, I will relish those memories. I will relive those memories forever.”
“There’s no place like this on television,” Seacrest added. “I really do feel like a family member.”
Seacrest announced his exit earlier this year, with Ripa’s husband, Mark Consuelos, set to step in as her co-host from next week.
What are your thoughts on the big farewell?
Hit the comments.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.