Michael Strahan’s Return to GMA Inspires ‘Tears of Joy’ After Absence to Deal with ‘Personal Family Matters’

Strahan had been absent from the ABC news program since Oct. 26

Michael Strahan is back at Good Morning America after a nearly three-week hiatus as he dealt with “personal family matters.”

The 51-year-old broadcaster did not address the reason behind his absence on the ABC morning show Wednesday, though his fellow co-hosts Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos appeared ecstatic for his return.

Roberts opened the show saying, “Can I just say we have tears of joy because we have Michael back here at the desk with us?”

“It is great to be back with both of you … and it’s great to see Jeremy Renner conquering another mountain or hill as he’s on his way to recovery,” Strahan replied, summarizing one of the top stories of the morning before continuing the broadcast.

It was like Strahan never left, as he jumped into several interviews alongside Roberts and Stephanopoulos with the cast of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and Chris Pine. At the end of the show, Roberts even led the team and audience in a “wave” to celebrate Strahan’s return.

No other details about Strahan’s circumstances that led to his lengthy absence were given during the two-hour broadcast.

His GMA return comes three days after the football analyst rejoined Fox NFL Sunday. Strahan returned to the network’s pregame broadcast to honor veterans alongside his co-host, Curt Menefee.

He also appeared on the Fox NFL Sunday TikTok to take part in a quiz to guess the meaning of military terms with Rob Gronkowski, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long and Jimmy Johnson.

PEOPLE previously confirmed Strahan took a brief break from both shows for private reasons.

“Michael Strahan will not be with us this week as he is dealing with some personal family matters,” an ABC spokesperson told PEOPLE in a statement last week. “We appreciate everyone’s thoughts and concerns.”

Menefee also noted during last week’s Fox NFL Sunday that Strahan was not part of the show because he is “dealing with a personal family matter,” per the Los Angeles Times.

Strahan is a dad to four adult children: Tanita, Michael Jr., Isabella and Sophia. He shares his two older kids, Tanita, 31, and Michael Jr., 28, with first wife Wanda Hutchins, to whom he was married from 1992 to 1996. He also shares 19-year-old twins Isabella and Sophia with second wife Jean Muggli, to whom he was married from 1999 to 2006.

PEOPLE previously learned that the broadcaster — who had not been on air at GMA since Oct. 26 — is healthy. Nightline co-anchor Juju Chang and World News Tonight’s Linsey Davis filled in in his absence.

Prior to his return, Strahan had not posted on social media since Oct. 25 when he promoted The $100,000 Pyramid.

source: people.com