Ryan Seacrest has spent the bulk of his life in front of the camera. He worried fans last year when he started slurring his speech on national television. Seacrest is opening up about what really happened, and what he learned.
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What Happened?
In May 2020, Seacrest had a health scare live during the American Idol finale. His speech started to slur and one of his eyes began to droop. Fans were immediately worried that he had suffered a stroke, but a rep for Seacrest denied this. Tabloid stories started pouring in about his ailing health, with some stories claiming he was on death’s door.
Seacrest Clears The Air
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Seacrest reflected on his health scare. He didn’t explain what happened but said he “definitely knew that I needed to slow down” over burn-out. “I was absolutely beat and fatigued and just wasn’t letting myself accept that. Now I do.”
Between his radio show and Live!, Seacrest is on the air for five hours five days a week. Throw American Idol, American Top 40, red carpets and any other production work, and it’s easy to see how Seacrest would get burnt out. He’s one of the busiest men in show business.
Work also had an effect on his personal life. Seacrest blames his intense work schedule for his break up with Shayna Taylor: “I think throughout the most intense times in my life, when I made work a priority, I probably didn’t sit back, listen and prioritize a relationship as much as I should have.” Now that he’s scaling things back a bit, he’s got an eye on having kids.
What Did He Do?
Doctors told Seacrest that he needed to do less. This wasn’t easy, Seacrest says: “to say no to things is difficult. You want to say yes… when I say no to something, I feel guilt in terms of an obligation.” he started by saying no to the E! Red Carpet. He announced in 2021 that after 14 years of hosting, he was moving on to new adventures. Throw in the end of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, and his schedule has lightened somewhat.
Instead, Seacrest is planting olive trees and taking cooking classes. Of course, he’s still wicked busy. He just signed a new contract with iHeart Radio, and is devoted to both Live! and American Idol for the foreseeable future. Working hard is in Seacrest’s DNA, but the speech slurring incident gave him a huge wake-up call.