Howard’s Dinner With Kelly Ripa

Howard reveals the aftermath of this "big story."

January 15, 2008

Howard revealed that he had dinner with Kelly Ripa over the summer, and he’d asked Kelly not to discuss it on the air. After Regis found out about the dinner (Howard casually mentioned it on Letterman), he waited until his show was taping to bring up how angry he was that Kelly hadn’t let him in on the “big story.” Howard played a clip of Regis’ “blowup” and then noted how beautiful Kelly was in person.

Howard told the crew that when a casually-dressed Beth saw Kelly get out of her car wearing a tight black dress, she changed quickly, so Kelly wouldn’t feel awkward or overdressed. Howard added that he was hoping that Mark, Kelly’s husband, would have some kind of “emergency” that would leave him alone with the girls. Howard said he’d fantasized about keeping the drinks flowing until Kelly and Beth started making out, so the crew brainstormed a few ways to get rid of Mark next time.