Kelly Ripa has co-hosted Live! throughout several eras, but it was a "very tough" couple of years before she found her footing with difficult network executives.

Ripa made her Live! debut alongside Regis Philbin in 2001, replacing co-host Kathie Lee Giffordfollowing a nationwide search. There were inequities compared to her male counterparts: Ripa wasn't given paid vacation time, maternity leave, a wardrobe budget, or even her own office space, she told Variety in a cover story published Tuesday.