Happy birthday, Kelly Ripa! The actress and TV staple celebrates her 55th trip around the sun on Thursday, October 2nd, and not only got to mark the big day while on the air on LIVE with Kelly and Mark, beside co-anchor and husband Mark Consuelos, but also with many of her famous friends. One of the first to post an online tribute, as he does every year, is close family friend David Muir. David and Kelly have been friends for several years now, dating back to the former's first days with ABC News in the aughts.
In honor of her big day, David, 51, took to his Instagram Stories with one of his favorite photos with the actress, a snap of them mid-laughter, cozying up to each other while seemingly at a party. "I know. I can't believe it either," he wrote with the photo. "Another year…happiest birthday @kellyripa. The rest of us are so lucky x."
David is also close with Mark and Kelly's three kids, Michael, Lola and Joaquin, with the pair having spoken about vacationing together as a family, spending the holidays together, and hosting summer barbecues and pool parties. David has also made occasional appearances on LIVE and even guest hosted recently in Mark's absence, given they all work in the Robert A. Iger building together.
The last time that took place was for the show on August 3rd, with Kelly introducing him as "Captain Handsome," quipping: "Drink it all in, this is all for you," in response to the crowd's applause. David apologetically added: "I have to say…I'm sorry, you came to see Mark Consuelos. He'll be back soon," although the All My Children alum retorted: "They'll survive, they'll survive today."
"I remember when I first saw David Muir file a report for World News Tonight. I didn't know him at all," Kelly recalled on a previous episode of LIVE, back when she hosted with Ryan Seacrest. "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.'"
Earlier this year, when the news anchor was a guest on LIVE, the mom-of-three joked with the studio audience: "We have unfettered access to David in this building. Sometimes we just go up and stare at him and he doesn't even know we're there." David mentioned "terrifying, gigantic images of all of us in this building," with Mark adding that he was particularly fond of the enlarged shot of him riding in a helicopter.
During that same conversation, they also spoke of what they'd consider to be their "next phase" after leaving their cushy TV jobs, a "plan B" of sorts. David, however, pitched that they run a doggy day care business, similarly to the one run by the woman who cares for his own dog Axel, calling it "the best business plan ever," consisting of simply caring for them and taking them on hikes outside of the city.