Media titan Oprah Winfrey recently joined Kelly Ripa on her podcast, Let’s Talk Off Camera, to offer career advice. The heart-to-heart stemmed from Ripa’s growing contemplation of retirement. She had posed a pointed question: “I’ve been at the talk show now for 25 years, so I’m asking for a friend. How did you know it was time to step away?”
Oprah’s Firm Response
Oprah was quick to respond: “First of all, it’s not time for you to step away.” She added, “And I, if I were advising you, I would say absolutely not.”
The former host explained that Ripa and her husband–co-host Mark Consuelos “are in a groove, and that groove continues to work.”
Oprah praised the show’s tone. “It’s easy and light, but also serious enough when it needs to be.” She assured Ripa, “It’s not a grind.”
Legacy Beyond Awards
Drawing from her own experiences, Oprah revealed why she stepped back from The Oprah Winfrey Show: “The nature of what we were doing every day became just so hard.”
She also described her late‑career shift away from Emmys: “It became not even worth [it] … I was more focused on putting out the effort to do good things.”
Emphasizing impact over accolades, Oprah said, “Your legacy is every life you touch. It’s measured in all the lives that are being affected by what you’re doing and saying.”
Oprah offered a heartfelt plea: “Don’t let go of the platform that you have. Do not do it. Don’t even consider it.” She stressed how vital the show’s community is both in the studio and in viewers’ homes: “The family that you’ve created … is really more vital and important now than ever before.”
Kelly’s Realization
Moved by Oprah’s counsel, Ripa acknowledged the role the show plays. She said many viewers rely on the program’s comforting tone. In part, she noted it airs during hospital treatments.
She admitted, “I have to remember that there are certain people that I will never know … who are counting on me and counting on the show.”
Ripa even joked in a “fantasy world” that Oprah’s show should return. “If somebody could get us through the dark times … it would be you guiding us.”