During Ryan Seacrest’s announcement that he is leaving “Live with Kelly and Ryan” after this season, Kelly Ripa also announced that Mark Consuelos, “Riverdale” actor and her husband, is coming in to replace him, to keep it in the family, so to speak. It will be, as Ripa said, “the nation’s weirdest social experiment.”
There were a lot of emotions between Ripa and Seacrest, with the words “gem,” “family,” “best friend,” and “good man” used by Ripa to describe Seacrest. It definitely seems genuine on screen. However, body language expert and communication coach, Jess Ponce III, can expertly say that their friendship is anything but fake. Ponce, author of “A.W.E.S.O.M.E.: 7 Keys to Unlock the Speaker Within,” pointed out that the announcement started off very formal and “classic PR style.” However, the body language expert noted that Seacrest kind of shed his “prepared statement” mode by taking a deep breath and turning to face Ripa. “It was [as] if he visually stated, ‘Now that my comment is done, let’s get more real,'” Ponce shared.
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Ponce also noted that Ripa was “emotional from the get-go,” pointing out that she was looking to and away from him, had “watery, emotional eyes,” and physically reached out to him. But it wasn’t all sad. The sweet part of this bittersweet moment was seen in how Seacrest “seemed giddy at times,” according to Ponce, potentially pointing to even more exciting plans ahead, despite the sadness that comes with leaving a friend and a long-running position.