Ryan Seacrest Reveals What He'll Miss Most About His Time on Live with 'Extremely Close' Co-Host Kelly Ripa

ABC Entertainment Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest

Ryan Seacrest is emotionally readying himself to say goodbye to Live with Kelly and Ryan.

Seacrest, 48, is departing the daytime talk show after six years co-hosting alongside Kelly Ripa. As he looks ahead to his final day, he acknowledges, "I'll miss this team of people, we've gotten to know each other and become very, very close."

"I've worked on a lot of different shows," he continued in a chat with E! News on Thursday, "it's a unique environment here where many people have been here a long time, they've raised their kids whilst being on this show."

"And I'll miss being next to Kelly every single day," Seacrest continued of Ripa, 52. "We're extremely close, we're very good friends and we'll remain good friends, but it's like there's that hour of communicating with somebody. You become super excited about doing it, you laugh and then of course you can't remember what you said to each other, so I'll miss that part."

Though Seacrest is handing over his chair to Ripa's husband Mark Consuelos, 51, he said the door is open for him to return to the series "now and then."

RELATED VIDEO: Ryan Seacrest Departing Live, Kelly Ripa to Be Joined by Husband Mark Consuelos Permanently

The American Idol host announced on Feb. 16 that he was going to be saying goodbye to the ABC show.

"Working alongside Kelly over the past six years has been a dream job and one of the highlights of my career," he said in a statement about his exit from the show, which will be officially rebranded as Live with Kelly & Mark. "She has been an amazing partner, friend, and confidant, and although we will always be a part of each other's lives, I will miss our mornings together."

"I also want to thank [executive producer] Michael Gelman and the entire staff and crew — we've made memories to last a lifetime, met some of the most incredible people and had the warmest welcome into the homes of so many viewers across America," he added. "It's been a memorable ride and now I'm excited to pass the baton to Kelly's 'real' husband, Mark."

RELATED: Ryan Seacrest Is 'Excited About the Next Chapter' After Live — Find Out What New Plans He's Cooking Up

Hours after announcing his departure from Live, Seacrest wished Consuelos well with a playful Instagram post.

"And congratulations to my brother Mark, feel free to remodel my dressing room!" he captioned the post, which featured a series of snapshots of himself and Ripa together.

"I'm going to miss my work wife and all the laughter we share," he continued. "When I signed on to host Live in 2017 it was meant to be for 3 years, but I loved the job and working with Kelly so much that I extended my time and last year I made the decision to stay on for one more final season."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Live with Kelly & Ryan airs weekdays at 9 a.m. ET on ABC.