Sure, he’s the new co-host of ‘Live with Kelly and Michael’, but Michael Strahan’s teeth seem to be all anyone wants to discuss. With other interests in his love life, namely his gorgeous fiance Nicole Murphy and trials of his ex-wife Jean Muggli.
The gap-toothed former defensive lineman for the NY Giants gave an interview recently where he addressed his unique smile. Once the ‘Live’ host began making the type of money that would allow him to ‘fix’ certain things about his appearance, teeth included, he admits that he thought about doing it.
“I was at the dentist having him do mock-ups. I thought about it, man…I was in my twenties,” he confessed to a popular magazine. “I was playing with the Giants. There’s so much pressure to be perfect. You can fix anything now. For me, I made the conscious effort to say, ‘This is who I am.’ I’m not perfect. I don’t want to be perfect…”
Would audiences love the big guy without without his famous gap-toothed smile? Perhaps. What makes him most admirable, though, is his commitment to being himself and not conforming to Hollywood and celebrity beauty standards. Usually, we hear about women in Hollywood, like Anne Hathaway for example, who are overly concerned about the pressure to appear perfect that we forget that men can feel that pressure as well.
It might seem strange in today’s world of veneers and almost alien-like bright smiles, but Michael Strahan’s teeth are picture of perfection in their own right.
His gorgeous fiance, Nicole Murphy, doesn’t seem to mind his unique smile at all. Strahan spoke about their relationship in his recent interview as well, saying: “I can be myself. I have someone who gets along with my family. And who gets along with my friends. And we have a lot of the same interests. Life is just a lot more peaceful.”
The peace comes after Strahan suffered a nasty divorce from ex-wife Jean Muggli. According to reports during the divorce, Muggli accused of infidelity and domestic abuse. The retired football player insist that despite the mud slinging his children were his number one concern,
“It didn’t get public on my account. I wasn’t necessarily trying to be public about anything. I couldn’t control it. There’s no reason to trash anybody in that situation. With technology the way it is, that stuff never goes away. When you have kids, who get older and use computers, you have to think about them. No matter how upset you are. So that’s what I chose to do. It was one of the worst but best things for me. You learn you don’t go around trying to prove to other people who you are.”
The one-time NY Giant sure does have an affinity for being true to himself. Perhaps that is partly the reason, along with his awesome smile, that audiences tune in day after day to see Strahan and Ripa on their morning show. Whoever would have thought that Michael Strahan’s teeth would be the subject of popular culture and self-esteem; and attributed to the crossover success of a former athlete to daytime TV?
As strange as it may seem, stranger things have happened in Hollywood.
Michael Strahan with ex-wife Jean Muggli
