Fans of David Muir got to see a different side of the ABC journalist after his close friend shared a personal photograph of him for his birthday.
David, who turned 52 on Saturday, received a heartwarming birthday message from a friend he describes as someone who “always has his back,” Kella Ripa.
As the veteran journalist celebrated his milestone, 55-year-old Kelly took to social media to share her love for David, alongside a sweet vacation picture of him.
Ripa posted a sunny snapshot of David alongside a cheerful “Happy Birthday.” She also uploaded a picture of herself posing in front of a promotional poster featuring the newsman advertising World News Tonight.
When David reposted the first image to his own Instagram Stories, he included three red heart emojis. He also shared Kelly’s poster photo, adding an arrow pointing toward her and another red heart emoji.
The pair have maintained a close friendship spanning many years, frequently being spotted together in both professional and personal settings. Kelly has also previously described David as the “backbone and moral compass I need sometimes.”
In a July Instagram post, David shared a photo of himself and Kelly embracing during a walk, captioning it, “You’ve always got my back @kellyripa so fun this morning – @livekellyandmark.”
This week, David, who joined ABC News in 2013 and has anchored World News Tonight with David Muir since September 2014, received an early and unexpected birthday gift in the days leading up to his celebration.
His program’s viewership numbers have soared to record-breaking levels, as his ABC News show has hit “season highs in adults 25-54 and adults 18-49,” according to the latest ratings.
The show also saw growth “year to year in total viewers and adults 18-49,” racking up a whopping 7.755 million viewers, outpacing its nearest rival, NBC’s Nightly News, by a margin of 1.6 million.
The news program also marked a significant achievement, securing the No. 1 spot in total viewers for the tenth consecutive year, as per the most recent Big Data+Panel ratings.
Thus, it once again surpassed its competitors, NBC Nightly News and CBS Evening News. Additionally, the show improved on its previous week’s ratings in the 25-54 and 18-49 age brackets by 3-6% across each metric.
Also, in October, David was honored with the 2025 Lew Klein Excellence in Media Award from Temple University in Philadelphia. Raised in Syracuse, New York, he is an alumnus of Ithaca College.
In his October 23 speech, he shared some wisdom gleaned from his long-standing career. “I think it’s so important that we all in this room remember to look behind us and make sure the door is open for the next person to come through,” he started.
Continuing, “There is no time more important to be a journalist in our country than right now. Let the viewers at home listen to the facts, hear the truth, and decide for themselves, and in that way you will be a success before you even know it.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.the-express.com ’
