Ryan Seacrest has shared that his on-air health scare last year forced him to accept that he needed to "slow down". The American Idol host left fans terrified in early 2020 when he began slurring his speech and appeared unable to focus properly during a live segment.
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Reps for the show confirmed at the time he had not suffered a stroke, but the television personality - known as one of the busiest men in showbiz - took time off from the series, and later in the year was also absent for several weeks from Live with Kelly and Ryan which he hosts with Kelly Ripa.
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Now, the 46-year-old has shared that although the details of the scare are "personal", he realized he "definitely knew that I needed to slow down" and that he "had burnt myself out".
"I was absolutely beat and fatigued and just wasn’t letting myself accept that. Now I do," he told WSJ.
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He said it was medically recommended that he "do less" which he found "difficult"; "when I say no to something, I feel guilt in terms of an obligation," he added.
Ryan hosts Live from 9 to 10 a.m. five days a week from New York and then broadcasts live for his four-hour syndicated KIIS-FM show, On Air With Ryan Seacrest, which airs during the morning commute in Los Angeles.
Ryan said he had "burnt myself out"
He also tapes the weekly American Top 40 With Ryan Seacrest, and hosts American Idol which can take up to six months of his year.
Ryan and Kelly have been hosting Live since 2017 together, however, throughout the pandemic Kelly and Ryan hosted the show from their own homes and only returned to the studio earlier in 2021.
The TV couple get on like a house on fire on screen, and their friendship extends far beyond work. In fact, Ryan even welled up last year after discussing just how much Kelly meant to him.
Ryan and Kelly have been hosting Live since 2017
Kelly was full of praise for the radio presenter, telling ET: "What you see of Ryan on air is the person he is backstage, which is a unique thing."
Ryan said of his co-star: "I'm using every ounce of my energy to fight back tears right now, while she's saying that."
He added: "We do a television show, but it's not just a television show. We come in and we literally have our first cup of coffee together and catch up with each other as friends do, and that's the dynamic we hope we have with people who are watching as well."
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