Michael Strahan has officially been revealed as Kelly Ripa’s new co-host, taking over the seat of Regis Philbin.
At the start of the show, Ripa said, "Nine months and I'm about to give birth to my new co-host." She later added, "Now it's time for a new era of our show to begin."
"It's an exciting day around here," said Ripa, standing in front of her desk with two empty chairs. "Nine months and I'm about to give birth to my co-host," she said.
After 200 shows and 59 guest co-hosts, she added that she wanted to thank the fans for "standing by" during the process.
The show also has a new name now, “Live with Kelly and Michael.”
Strahan, 40, and father of four, gave his new "TV wife" Ripa, 41, a bouquet of roses. His fiancee, Nicole Murphy (Eddie Murphy's ex), was standing off stage and waved to the crowd.
There's been a series of co-hosts on "Live! With Kelly" since Regis Philbin retired last November. Since then, she has welcomed 59 guest co-hosts. Several of them, including Strahan, were under consideration for the permanent job.
Ripa has had many celebrity co-hosts over the last year, including Jerry Seinfeld, Seth Meyers, Neil Patrick Harris and Josh Groban.
The former football player was very gracious as he took the stage with the veteran host of the show. He told her, "I adore you and I am so happy to be here and be a part of this. You know how they say it's a dream come true? I truly can't say that because I didn't even know I could dream this."
Michael quickly settled into his role once the confetti and balloons stopped falling and sweetly pulled Kelly’s chair out for her, after he said: ‘Let’s have a seat.’ The 6ft 5in Houston born star already hosts Fox NFL Sunday and Pros vs. Joes.
