David Muir and Kelly Ripa reveal ‘next phase’ as they talk leaving ABC

David Muir and Kelly Ripa are more than ABC colleagues as they’ve formed a firm friendship away from the small screen too. 

The pair were reunited on Tuesday when the celebrated news anchor made an appearance on Live with Kelly and Mark where they discussed their future.

Viewers were given insight into just how close they are when David and Kelly revealed they’d been thinking about their “next phase” and confessed to concocting a “plan B” for when they leave their TV roles. 

 Interestingly, they don’t have another television gig in their sights, but David was eager to team up with Kelly to do something else. 

Plan B

© Paul Bruinooge

David said the lady who runs his dog, Axel’s doggy day care has the “best business plan ever,” as he regaled how his pet pooch — along with numerous other hounds — spends the day hiking outside of NYC, and living his best life. 

David suggested when the time was right, he and Kelly do the same and run a dog care business where they could spend the day walking and talking.

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Kelly’s husband, Mark Consuelos, watched as the friends animatedly spoke about their hopes for the future.

Their friendship

© Photo: Getty Images

Kelly and Mark go way back with David, who was even given a special mention in the tributes section of Kelly’s book, Live Wire, where she called him the “backbone and moral compass I need sometimes”. 

Kelly previously opened up about the first time she saw David on TV and revealed the hilarious way she reached out to him. 

Speaking to her then co-host, Ryan Seacrest, on Live, she said: “I remember when I first saw David Muir file a report for World News Tonight. I didn’t know him at all. 

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“I immediately cracked into the ABC News system email – which you’re not supposed to use unless it’s for news – and I wrote: “Dude. You looked amazing tonight. Don’t know what was going on. Looked kinda dangerous where you are. But just wanted to let you know that you looked amazing. I had the volume down.”

Kelly’s bold move may have sparked the friendship which they’ve nurtured over the years. 

Family ties

Kelly and Mark’s children, Joaquin, Lola and Michael, are close to David too and most recently he showed his support for their daughter on her 24th birthday. 

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Kelly posted an adorable video to celebrate her on Instagram. The video was a collage of throwback photos from Lola’s life to Stevie Wonder’s ‘Isn’t She Lovely.’ The post got a lot of love.

David commented on the post with three hearts.