Kelly & Regis From Live ! To Livid!

There’s no cold shoulder quite like a Kelly Ripa cold shoulder — as her mentor, Regis Philbin, apparently has discovered. And insiders are furious over the TV legend’s treatment by his protegée and one-time live! Costar.

- 

ON Feb. 10, 2016, in honor of Kelly Ripa’s 15th anniversary as cohost of Live!, the diminutive blonde was showered with confetti on the set as she choked back tears and thanked “everybody here, family and friends” for the show’s success. Noticeably absent from the crowd? Daytime TV legend Regis Philbin, the man responsible for giving Kelly the break of a lifetime by bringing her on board the show in 2001. 

Turns out, the easy on-air chemistry the duo shared during the decade they cohosted Live! may just have been a made-for-TV fable — and could have been obscuring some nasty tension behind the scenes.

WAR OF WORDS

In a recent, stunning interview on Larry King Now, Regis, 85 — who left Live! in 2011 after 23 years — claimed that Kelly, 46, has callously iced him out ever since his departure. Asked by King if they keep in touch, Regis replied, “No... not really.” Looking pained, Regis then claimed that “never once did they ask me to go back on the show.” He added, “[Kelly] got very offended when I left. She thought I was leaving because of her. I was leaving because I was getting older; it wasn’t right for me anymore.” Asked by King if he thought Kelly “took it personal,” Regis then replied: “Yeah, I think so.”

After Regis’ comments hit the news, an exec with WABC (which produces