When American Idol first aired in 2002, it was hosted by Ryan Seacrest and Brian Dunkleman, who almost came to blows during a heated argument. Ryan has been the host of the show since the start, but his former co-host Brian left after just one season. According to him, the relationship that he had with the Live With Kelly and Ryan star was never a good one. Here is what he had to say about their relationship, including the moment when the pair almost got physical.
While they made it seem like they had a good relationship while hosting the show together, that couldn't be farther from the truth. Brian spoke candidly about his time on American Idol (specifically, his bad relationship with Seacrest) while chatting on the Behind The Velvet Rope podcast. Even though American Idol was a success story for Seacrest, it bothers Brian that people keep reminding him of how wealthy Ryan is due to his years on the singing competition show. Some people think that Brian has regrets about leaving AI.
According to Heavy, Brian and Ryan almost got physical after the live taping of one of the shows. Brian stated, "At one point, I just looked at (Ryan) and he said, ‘say something Dunk.’ And I said, ‘what do you want me to say, Ryan?’ He said ‘how about we’ll be right back with more American Idol. Cut. Are you going to say one f***ing thing that’s on the teleprompter tonight?'” After this happened, Brian had to be escorted to the elevator by his manager and best friend, as he was angry and it was safer to get him away from Seacrest. These days, Brian, who rose to fame on AI like Kelly Clarkson, jokes about his career trajectory after the show, "saying he's gone from American Idol host to Uber driver," as seen below:
Despite not always having the best time on the show, Brian does admit that his stint on the series wasn't all bad. In fact, he really enjoyed the moments when he and Seacrest would just go out in the city and do funny and silly stuff together, which unfortunately was never filmed and shown on-air. So, while their overall dynamic was not great, it does seem that the pair did have good moments from time to time. It's possible that the former co-host damaged his career by quitting the show after the first season, due to the immense success of American Idol.
With American Idol debuting its landmark 20th season in 2022, fans shouldn't expect Brian to return to his co-hosting duties. Even though he did make an appearance in the 2016 series finale on FOX, it doesn't seem like he will return to his old job anytime soon, if ever. It seems safe to say that Brian and Ryan will likely never work together again.
Sources: Heavy, Brian Dunkleman/Instagram