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Kelly Ripa Chokes Up Paying Tribute To Regis Philbin On 'Live!'

The world was saddened to learn of the passing of legendary television host and icon Regis Philbin, who passed away on July 25th at the age of 88 years old from natural causes.

Regis' co-host of 11 years, Kelly Ripa, spoke about the loss with Ryan Seacrest on Monday's episode of Live! With Kelly And Ryan.

Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest took the time out of their show to acknowledge the loss of Regis Philbin.

“It’s been a very difficult and emotional day for all of us at Live.," Ryan began. "Kelly, I know a tough weekend for you especially because you worked with our dear friend, a friend that passed away over the weekend, Regis Philbin."

“A legend on television. A best friend to so many of us who didn’t even know him, across the country," Ryan described Regis.

Kelly got emotional as she spoke, saying, “As people get older, you always know that certain things are inevitable, and passing away is one of those things, but Regis is one of the people that we all believed, I think, would somehow figure out a way around the inevitable. It was not in the cards."

Kelly and Ryan made a joint statement on Instagram after the news about Regis broke.

“We are beyond saddened to learn about the loss of Regis Philbin,” the statement read. “He was the ultimate class act, bringing his laughter and joy into our homes every day on Live for more than 23 years."

"We were beyond lucky to have him as a mentor in our careers and aspire every day to fill his shoes on the show."

"We send our deepest love and condolences to his family and hope they can find some comfort in knowing he left the world a better place.”

You can watch the clip right here.

Our thoughts are with Regis' loved ones at this difficult time.