KELLY RIPA HEALTH CRISIS
KELLY RIPA doubled over in agony from a devastating illness that forced the courageous Live host off TV and into a medical facility, sparking fears the bubbly blonde is hiding a crippling condition that may require surgery.
The alarm over her health was triggered when the feisty five-foot-three star began feeling ill on Sept. 18, left the set and ended up missing the show the following day.
Co-host Ryan Seacrest, 44, told surprised viewers: “Unfortunately she wasn’t feeling well yesterday and today she’s really sick. She was here a few minutes ago and we just said, ‘Go feel better.’ ”
Sources say the 49-year-old chatterbox “was doubled over in pain” and ended up in a local medical facility, hooked to an IV.
“People were so concerned she missed the tapings that they were afraid she might need surgery!” says a source close to Kelly and Ryan.
“She really wanted to go on the air, but she just wasn’t capable. It was clear she needed help.”
After skipping Thursday’s show, she’s normally off Friday, so she had that day plus the weekend to recover.
When Kelly returned Monday, Sept. 23, she poohpoohed the seriousness of her situation.
“I feel a lot better,” she told the audience, joking, “Rumors of my death were greatly exaggerated.”
But she also admitted she’d been in agony and looked like death warmed over, saying, “I was doubled over. [But] in my mind, I was standing upright and I looked great.
“And I kept thinking, ‘Wow, you know what, I’m a trooper.
You would never know I’m sick.’
“And they were like, ‘Are you dying?’
“You know when you walk into a room and everyone backs out of the room? I was that person.”
After leaving Live, Ripa rushed to get emergency medical attention and was put on an intravenous drip.
She joked to Seacrest she had hoped to watch him hosting solo to see if he could “try to get through host chat without me to talk to.” But the room only had one channel, which was playing a British nature documentary series called Blue Planet, she quipped.
Ryan also tried to smooth over any alarm, saying, “You didn’t want us to catch anything. You were very considerate. You were missed!”
Incredibly, while Live is still a huge hit — with ratings better than other veteran talkers like Ellen DeGeneres, Maury Povich and Wendy Williams — “she’s never been completely confident in her role as a TV star” despite
fronting the gabfest since
2001, says the source.
An insider adds, “Kelly’s not one to miss a show unless it’s something that’s absolutely serious.
“She hates to not be doing her job because she knows that in television, everybody is vulnerable.
“She hasn’t forgotten how she easily slid into Kathie Lee Gifford’s seat even after years of audiences embracing her as Regis Philbin’s partner!
“Everyone knows her work ethic. If she was up to it, she would have gone in front of the camera.
“But friends said they had never seen her looking that ill or distressed.”