MICHAEL STRAHAN’s fiancée, Nicole, is pushing to make him even MORE famous than her superstar ex-hubby, Eddie Murphy!
And the former football star’s new gig on “Good Morning America” is just the next step in what she expects to be a blockbuster career, say sources.
“Nicole’s plan is to make Michael into a bigger star than Eddie Murphy ever was,” said a source. “She even has ambitious plans for a reality TV show featuring their family that will put the Kardashians to shame!
“Nicole wants Michael to be the male version of Oprah on TV one day. She says he has the Midas touch.”
That golden touch has already won the “Live Kelly & Michael” co-host another high-profile job at “GMA,” and he was given the red carpet treatment when he made a brief debut on April 15. The cast of the ABC morning show presented him with an alarm clock and huge coffee mug, and Strahan vowed to be back “next week.”
Meanwhile, Nicole, who produces the reality show “Hollywood Exes” in Los Angeles, believes so strongly that Michael’s the next big thing that she’s considering quitting that series next year so she can spend more time with him in New York, where his TV jobs are centered, says the source.
As The ENQUIRER recently reported, the distance between them helped to fuel a cheating scandal that left Michael “stunned.” A celebrity website quoted an eyewitness who claimed that Nicole was getting cozy with one of Beyonce’s hunky male dancers in an L.A. hotspot while Michael was in New York.
Still, the wedding is on, and a close source told The ENQUIRER that Nicole is “not cheating with anyone” and “looking forward to being Mrs. Michael Strahan.”
Gap-toothed Michael, 42, retired from the New York Giants in 2008 and is a favorite analyst for FOX Sports’ NFL pregame show on Sundays during football season. Since joining Kelly Ripa’s syndicated morning show in 2012 after Regis Philbin retired, the ratings for “Live” have jumped.
“Nicole takes credit for making Michael even more popular,” said the source. “She pays attention to every detail, and even though he has a wardrobe person at ‘Live,’ she gives him tips on what looks good to her – and he listens.”
The source said Nicole is also encouraging Michael to take advantage of their unusual family situation – she has five children from her marriage to Eddie Murphy and twice-divorced Michael has four – for a reality show.
“Nicole thinks in addition to ‘Live,’ ‘GMA,’ and commentating on football, they can take on the Kardashians and create their own brand,” the source added.
“Michael loves Nicole and he’s flattered that she thinks so much of his future. But he jokes to her, ‘Slow down – with all your plans there won’t be any time for me to sleep!’”
