HEARTBREAKING: Why Michael Strahan and Kelly Ripa no longer speak? The reason that touches everyone and garners sympathy. Once a dynamic duo on America’s morning TV, Michael Strahan and Kelly Ripa shocked their fans when it was revealed that they no longer kept in touch. But behind the silence lies a heartbreaking story, where fame, career, and personal emotions intertwine.

Nearly three years after Michael Strahan‘s controversial decision to leave Live with Kelly and Michael for Good Morning America, the former Giants defensive end isn’t speaking to his former co-host Kelly Ripa.

In a new interview with Time magazine for its Feb. 4 issue, Strahan, 47, reveals that he and Ripa, 48, are no longer in touch despite four years of working together.

“I haven’t spoken to her in a long time,” Strahan told Time.

“I learned through all that went down with that, you can’t convince people to like you,” he added.

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A rep for Ripa did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

David Russell/Disney-ABC via Getty

Strahan and Ripa’s relationship was irreparably damaged in April 2016, when Strahan announced — rather suddenly — that he’d be leaving Live for the GMA position. Ripa called out of work for the next few days, and news quickly broke that she hadn’t been given a heads-up about the decision.

A week later, Ripa returned to the long-running show, explaining that after 26 years with ABC she “earned the right” to take some time off to “gather [her] thoughts.”

Strahan’s exit was moved up to May 13, months earlier than planned. Even Disney/ABC Chief Ben Sherwood publicly admitted to The Hollywood Reporter that the network “made some mistakes” in the handling of Strahan’s exit.

Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan. David A. Russell/ABC

Ripa went on to host Live with a series of rotating guests until Ryan Seacrest joined as a permanent co-host in May 2017. Strahan guested on GMA and now hosts the show’s new third hour, GMA Day, which premiered in September.

Back in October 2016, Strahan opened up to PEOPLE about he and Ripa’s messy falling out.

“The most disappointing thing to me was that I was painted as the bad guy, because I value the way I carry myself,” Strahan said. “I don’t want people to see me as ‘Oh, he just ran out, just left them there.’ That’s just not true.”

In her own cover interview with PEOPLE in May 2016, Ripa opened up about how the situation was handled, explaining, “There’s a part of me that can say, ‘Okay, I understand. This may have been an oversight.’ ”

She continued, “And again, after 26 years, at this point we are like a family. And sometimes when you are so comfortable with somebody, you may not give them the same consideration as somebody you’re not as comfortable with – a certain formality falls away.”

But, Ripa noted at the time, “People make mistakes, and we’re all human.”

She told PEOPLE, “They’re human and I’m human. We all have these moments, and it’s about how you move forward and how you begin again.”

Michael Strahan. Michael Tran/FilmMagic

Strahan was a surprise pick when he replaced Regis Philbin on the show in 2012. During his tenure, he and Ripa won the Daytime Emmy for outstanding entertainment talk show host twice — including in 2016.

According to the Hall of Famer, he and Ripa’s friendship wasn’t as strong behind the scenes as it looked in front of the camera.

“Toward the end of it all, we didn’t really communicate that much,” Strahan explained to PEOPLE. “I kinda looked at it like, ‘It was what it was.’ I come from a business where you have to collaborate. The show was going well? We’re all winning. That’s all that matters to me.”