Kelly Ripa left fans pleading for her return after being absent from her show Live with Kelly and Mark for two days in a row last week.
The 52-year-old was replaced by Anderson Cooper and the show's announcer Deja Vu on Thursday and Friday's episodes of the hit morning show, and while they both proved popular with viewers, many couldn't wait for Kelly to return to the sofa alongside her husband Mark Consuelos.
© InstagramKelly was clearly touched by the support she had received from fans online, and reposted a message on her Instagram Stories from a viewer who wrote: "Mark is so good I've been watching the show without Kelly. However, I miss Kelly, that show is all her and I can't wait for her to be back."
It is not the first time Kelly has missed recording the show in recent weeks; the mom-of-three was replaced by Maria Menounos on the July 20 and 21 broadcasts, who shared details about her newborn daughter Athena and revealed Kelly and Mark had left her a sweet baby gift in her dressing room backstage.
© Getty ImagesAlthough Kelly has not confirmed the reason why she has been missing from the show, it is believed she has been busy shooting her other TV project, Generation Gap, which she has also been plugging for her 3.4 million followers on Instagram.
Kelly has been hosting Live alongside her husband since April, when her co-host of six years, Ryan Seacrest, left his chair. Although the season got off to a rocky start with ardent viewers hoping Ryan would return, the pairing has now become so successful that they have already started shooting promos for the upcoming season of Live, showing that Mark isn't going anywhere soon.
© Getty ImagesIn an interview with Variety ahead of Ryan's departure and Mark's incoming, the former All My Children actress got candid about dealing with difficult transitions on Live, given that her husband is the fourth co-host she's had to work with on the show after Ryan, Michael Strahan, and Regis Philbin.
MORE: Kelly Ripa replaced by Maria Menounos on Live
"I can't say it enough. I had a really difficult time. These transitions don't have to be dramatic," she told the outlet. "I know what it's like to feel like you're not wanted somewhere.
"I came from an acting background, and I am an expert in rejection. But this was like weirdly being rejected while also being the person that they wanted for the show."
