Michael Strahan has returned to “Good Morning America” after he was absent for over three weeks due to “personal family matters.”
The former NFL star rejoined his co-hosts, Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos, at the semi-circle desk on Wednesday.
“Can I just say we have tears of joy, because Michael is back here at the desk with us!” Roberts said as crew members cheered his return.
Strahan, 51, smiled and told his co-anchors, “It is great to be back with both of you,” and later added, “thank you guys.”
He wore a purple and pink plaid button down, a navy suit and a navy tie with pink peonies and roses on it for his grand return.
Neither Strahan nor Roberts went into detail about exactly why Strahan hasn’t been on the ABC morning show, but Pvnew reported last week that he was taking a pause from the show to attend to something with his family.
“Michael Strahan will not be with us this week as he is dealing with some personal family matters. We appreciate everyone’s thoughts and concerns,” an ABC spokesperson told Pvnew in a statement last Monday.
Strahan had not been on-camera since Thursday, Oct. 26, but he’s frequently absent on Mondays and occasionally Fridays for his “Fox NFL Sunday” gig which takes place in Los Angeles.
However, he was also not present at the Fox football show, and his co-host Curt Menefee told viewers the similar message that he was handling a “personal family matter” on Nov. 5.
The television personality has continued to keep quiet on social media, as he has not shared an Instagram post since Oct. 25 – promoting his “Pyramid” game show – prior to his absence.
Linsey Davis temporarily joined Roberts and Stephanopoulos to fill in for him during the “GMA” hiatus. He joined the team as a full-time anchor in 2016 after being a contributor since 2014. He began his ABC career in 2012 when he snagged Kelly Ripa’s co-host position on “Live with Kelly and Michael.”
As for his personal life, Strahan has been dating girlfriend Kayla Quick since 2015. They’ve mostly kept their romance out of the public life for the last eight years.
Strahan is also a dad to four kids: daughter Tanita, 32, and son Michael Jr., 19, with his first wife, Wanda Hutchins, and twin daughters Isabella and Sophia, 18, with his second wife, Jean Muggli.
