Kelly Ripa, Regis Philbin haven’t kept in touch

Kelly Ripa and Regis Philbin of “Live! With Regis and Kelly” haven’t kept in touch.

Philbin retired from the show in November 2011 after hosting the talker since 1988, first with Kathie Lee Gifford. Ripa replaced Gifford in 2001, and when it was announced that Philbin would also be bidding the show adieu, Ripa did test-runs with various co-host contenders before ultimately settling on former NFL star Michael Strahan in September 2012.

The announcement was made to quite a bit of fanfare, since Strahan was one of 50 guest hosts who had stopped by “Live!” in 10 months. “Live! With Kelly and Michael” took off with what Ripa, 42, called “a new era of our show.”

Ripa compared her two partners at the Hollywood Reporter’s bash this week to celebrate the 35 powerful people in the media, saying, “Well they’re both incredible storytellers,” jokingly adding, “They are both fiercely competitive, and they’re both incredible football players.”

The transition has seemingly gone quite smoothly, with “Live! With Kelly and Michael” matching its strongest February in five years during sweeps week by garnering 3 million viewers, THR said.

But when asked if she still kept in touch with her 81-year-old former sidekick, she said, “I haven’t seen him, no.”

As they say, out with the old, in with the new ...

But last October, Philbin had good things to say about Ripa’s choice in partner.

“He’s got a good sense of humor. He’s a good guy. I think they’re doing great,” Philbin told Us Weekly.

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