Robin Roberts recently married longtime girlfriend Amber Laign last week in a beautiful wedding ceremony in Connecticut.
While the exclusive group of guests included family and friends, several notable individuals were absent.
Among them was Roberts’ friend and colleague, Amy Robach, who was rumored to be “furious” over getting snubbed.
Roberts’ friend Kelly Ripa didn’t attend the wedding, but it wasn’t due to a lack of an invitation extended to Ripa.
There were previous reports that Ripa chose not to attend so she wouldn’t be in the same room or vicinity as her former co-host, Michael Strahan.
However, a source has since suggested that was not the reason, and a more valid reason surfaced for why Ripa didn’t attend Roberts’ wedding.
Kelly Ripa didn’t attend Robin Roberts’ wedding
Roberts’ recent Connecticut wedding featured guests including friends and colleagues Ginger Zee, Lara Spencer, and Dr. Jennifer Ashton.
Her GMA co-anchors, George Stephanopoulos and Strahan, were also in attendance for the garden-themed wedding ceremony, held in the backyard at Roberts’ home. Live host Kelly Ripa wasn’t there, nor was her husband.
While some believed ongoing gossip that Ripa and Strahan’s rumored feud led to her skipping Roberts’ wedding, that wasn’t the case.
An inside source revealed that Ripa missed Roberts’ wedding due to attending an event on the opposite side of the country where her husband and co-host had a special honor.
“Kelly wasn’t there because she was with her husband Mark Consuelos on the West Coast, where he was at the Mexican Independence Day Parade and Festival,” a source told Daily Mail.
That story checks out based on Ripa’s Instagram post, as she shared a video of her husband, who served as Grand Marshal for the parade.
“¡Viva México! 🇲🇽 @Instasuelos was increíble today as the Grand Marshal for the #EastLaParade! Feliz #MexicanIndependenceDay ❤️💚,” Ripa wrote in an Instagram post’s caption.
A report from The Sun indicated that Ripa and her husband Mark had jetted to Los Angeles after they skipped Roberts’ wedding due to Strahan attending. While they did go to Los Angeles and missed the wedding, it doesn’t seem due to Ripa’s former co-host being there.
Ripa and Strahan feud rumors are ‘false’
In addition to revealing the legitimate reason Ripa wouldn’t attend Roberts’ wedding, Daily Mail’s source commented about those ongoing rumors about a Ripa and Strahan feud.
The source shared that Kelly “has been in the same room as Strahan many other times – neither of them are avoiding each other. This is false.”
The two TV personalities were co-hosts on the long-running syndicated morning program Live, which has featured Kelly as a co-host for 22 years.
Regis Philbin initially hosted the show alongside Kathy Lee Gifford in 1998, with Ripa taking over in 2001 once Gifford departed.
After Philbin left the show in 2011, Ripa began to co-host with various stars, including Kim Kardashian, Neil Patrick Harris, and former NFL star Michael Strahan.
In September 2012, Strahan was revealed as a permanent co-host alongside Ripa, changing the show’s title to Live with Kelly and Michael. However, things took a surprising turn about four years later.
Ripa addressed her co-host’s decision to depart Live
While Strahan co-hosted with Ripa for four years, he abruptly announced his decision to leave the show in 2016 to join the Good Morning America on-air crew in a full-time role.
Ripa was absent from Live on the day that Strahan revealed he would be leaving the show, leading to speculation that she wasn’t happy about his abrupt decision.
When she returned to the program after what was reported as a “pre-scheduled vacation,” she spoke about the situation involving ABC, Live, and Strahan’s departure.
Ripa mentioned she hadn’t received advanced notice of Strahan’s negotiations with Live to move to GMA, which may have irked her.
She spoke about how the situation that transpired over just a few days “sparked a much greater conversation about communication and consideration, and most importantly, respect in the workplace.”
“I am thrilled for Michael. I am thrilled for you,” Ripa said, speaking to her off-camera co-host, Strahan.
“This is a tremendous opportunity, and I couldn’t be, and we couldn’t be prouder of you and everything we accomplished together,” she said during her segment.
After Strahan’s departure, Ripa co-hosted the show with Ryan Seacrest for six years before her husband joined her as co-host in 2023.