Absences were abundant during this past week’s Good Morning America episodes, with several of the morning show’s hosts missing.
That included Friday’s show, which may have surprised viewers as three of the program’s standard hosts were replaced for the day.
GMA’s regulars, Michael Strahan, Robin Roberts, and George Stephanopoulos, were absent from the show.
Instead, viewers saw Gio Benitez, Juju Chang, and Rebecca Jarvis take over the co-hosting and anchor duties.
They didn’t indicate what was happening with the three regulars or comment on their absences.
Here’s why Roberts, Strahan, and Stephanopoulos weren’t part of GMA on Friday.
Strahan had a string of absences from GMA
For Strahan, the absences were frequent last week during GMA, but for other gigs that the former NFL star participated in.
He’s typically absent from the show on Mondays, particularly during the NFL season, as he’s one of the Fox analysts covering games each weekend on Fox NFL Sunday.
Along with that job, Strahan appeared on Tuesday night’s Dancing With the Stars. The Pro Football Hall of Fame member was a guest judge for Motown Night, although there were mixed reviews from DWTS fans about his role.
In addition, Strahan appeared live on QVC on Wednesday evening to promote his MSX clothing line for the NFL. His daughter Isabella also appeared, as she regularly models the apparel.
Strahan appeared via satellite from Los Angeles during the week and assured his co-host about his career plans with GMA. He indicated he’s not leaving anytime soon, which likely brought a sigh of relief from his colleagues and viewers.
Why were Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos missing?
As mentioned, Strahan was one of the three missing co-hosts on Friday, and his absence seemed more expected than Roberts or Stephanopoulos’ absences.
Regarding Roberts, the longtime GMA star missed Monday’s show along with Strahan. She returned for most of the week’s GMA shows, including an all-women’s hosting lineup for Thursday. Linsey Davis and Jarvis filled in for Roberts’ usual co-hosts.
Roberts was not part of GMA on Friday, though. She helped Tamron Hall moderate a Playfest Event held in New York City on Thursday evening.
It’s possible that Roberts opted to take the next day off after working the previous night. Viewers are expecting to see her back on Monday.
So far, there’s no indication of why Stephanopoulos was absent from Friday’s episode of Good Morning America. There are also no reports of any of Friday’s replacements being extended or permanent for GMA.
Most likely, Stephanopoulos will return for Monday’s show along with Roberts, while Strahan will have the day off. If Stephanopoulos and Roberts are missing again, fans might really start to wonder!
Why was it important for you to share Robin Roberts age with us, and not the other two males ages?