Kelly Ripa Absent From ‘Live’ for Second Week Amid Surgery Recovery
Kelly Ripa Absent From ‘Live’ for Second Week Amid Surgery Recovery
Paige StroutMon, August 3, 2026 at 1:55 PM UTC
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Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos on the March 24, 2026, episode of 'Live With Kelly and Mark.' - Disney/José Alvarado Jr.
Kelly Ripa is continuing her time off from Live With Kelly and Mark.
Ripa was absent from the daytime talk show’s Monday, August 3, episode. “Filling in for Kelly today is Sarah Chalke,” Mark Consuelos announced at the top of the show as the Scrubs actress joined him at the hosting desk.
Chalke is the latest celebrity to fill in for Ripa on the show, as she is currently recovering from a recent gum graft surgery. Ripa was absent for the entirety of last week’s episodes, with celebrities such as Kevin Jonas, Mila Kunis, Pamela Adlon, and Scott Foley taking on her co-hosting duties.
“Kelly sends her love. Kelly had a little bit of — well, it’s not a little — a gum graft surgery,” Consuelos revealed on July 27. “And her dentist said five years ago, ‘You can do it in about five years.’ And she joked, ‘I didn’t think I’d still be on the air in five years.’”
Noting that Ripa was “doing well,” Consuelos said that Ripa is not allowed to speak as her recovery continues. In response, Jonas quipped, “Wow. That’s gotta be the hardest thing that she’s ever done.”
Consuelos continued, “There’s a list of things that you’re not allowed to do — talking, she has to eat soft food, you can’t suck out of a straw. You can’t examine it, which means pulling down the lip. And so, last night, she’s like, ‘Can you look?’ I’m like, ‘I’m not pulling your lip down.’”
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Jonas asked, “Is there pain?” Consuelos responded, “Yeah, it’s painful. But she famously doesn’t feel pain. When she goes into the dentist, she doesn’t really use the Novocain. But this one hurts, so I know it’s bad.”
Fans sent Ripa their well-wishes via social media. “I literally just had gum graft surgery 2 weeks ago and it’s the palate where they took the skin graft that is still painful! thinking of you and wishing you a speedy recovery!” one person captioned under a clip shared on the show’s Instagram page on July 27. Another added, “I’ve had this surgery! It’s not fun and I put it off for years too.”
Someone else shared, “Had the same surgery and had a newborn. It was brutal.” A different person posted, “I had that and it’s terrible! I have a high threshold too but that kicked me!! Never again.” A separate commenter stated, “I had the same thing its brutal. I wish her a speedy recovery.”
Consuelos has not confirmed when Ripa will return to her role on Live. Ripa, for her part, has not shared any glimpses into her recovery via social media.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
