BREAKING: David Muir STEPS AWAY from ABC News – Midnight THANK-YOU message leaves fans emotional. What’s really going on?

It wasn’t on live TV, nor at a formal press conference — instead, a late-night Instagram post with just one line: “Thanks for having me.” That’s all it took for David Muir to set off a wave of speculation. What is really happening at ABC? And why did the veteran anchor suddenly step away from the newsdesk to appear at a red-carpet event?

A longtime close friend of Kelly Ripa, David Muir still responded with his trademark grace and professionalism, expressing genuine gratitude for the unexpected invitation from his dear friend.

The 20/20 host made a rare red carpet appearance to show support for his friends, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, as he attended the series premiere of their new ESPN show Running With The Wolves in New York. 

David was snapped solo while Kelly and Mark posed up a storm with the team behind their show.

He later took to Instagram to congratulate the pair on their evening celebrating their project when he shared a photo of himself and added: ‘Thanks for having me.”

David attended the ESPN event solo smiling © Getty Images
David attended the ESPN event solo

David also congratulated them both on their creation.

What is Running With The Wolves?

Running With The Wolves follows Kelly and Mark as they took ownership of the Italian Campobasso Football Club in 2022

Kelly and Mark pose red carpet© Getty Images
Kelly and Mark are excited for their latest project

The four-part docuseries premieres on July 29 and gives an inside look at how the couple turns the football club into a winning organization.

When the trailer was released Mark shared it with his 3.4 million Instagram followers, and wrote: “Proud and excited to announce our new ESPN Original series Running with the Wolves — an inside look at the underdog rise of our Campobasso Football Club.” Watch the trailer below.

While Kelly and Mark did not disclose the financial details for the acquisition, controller of the team Matt Rizzetta estimates the value of the team at $10 million, per Forbes.

Kelly and David’s connection

david muir kelly ripa hug© Getty Images
Kelly and Mark have a great friendship

Kelly and Mark go way back with David, who was even given a special mention in the tributes section of Kelly’s book, Live Wire, where she called him the “backbone and moral compass I need sometimes”.

Kelly previously opened up about the first time she saw David on TV and revealed the hilarious way she reached out to him.

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos at Family Equality's Night© Getty Images for Family Equality
Kelly and Mark have been married for almost 30 years

Speaking to her then co-host, Ryan Seacrest, on Live, she said: “I remember when I first saw David Muir file a report for World News Tonight. I didn’t know him at all.

“I immediately cracked into the ABC News system email – which you’re not supposed to use unless it’s for news – and I wrote: “Dude. You looked amazing tonight. Don’t know what was going on. Looked kinda dangerous where you are. But just wanted to let you know that you looked amazing. I had the volume down.”