’GMA’s Michael Strahan Hints at Future Retirement

Michael Strahan didn't shy away from answering a tough question about his retirement plans.

The pro-athlete-turned-TV-personality addressed the future of his career in a cover story recently published in Town & Country magazine that also featured one of his 20-year-old twin daughters, Isabella.

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In it, the father-daughter duo discussed what's next for both of them, seeing as after a nearly year-long health battle, Isabella recently wrapped up chemo and was declared cancer-free over the summer. She has since returned to college and says the experience taught her to never "say no to anything."

As for her multi-hyphenate father, he learned something about himself, too. "We’ve always been a close family, but this last year has given me some perspective. At the end of the day the most important thing is your kids, your family, your mom, your father, your other loved ones—and just to hold them close to you, and your friends as well. Now I wake up every day and enjoy that day, more so than looking to next week, next month, or next year."

While it's clear his kids have been and always will be his priority (notably, the 51-year-old took time off from GMA and FOX NFL Sunday to be with Isabella during treatment and to celebrate her remission), the hurdles the family has overcome didn't set off an alarm bell for him to pack in his TV career–but he admitted to thinking about it.

"I’ve always had those thoughts," Strahan told the outlet. "It will happen at some point."

"It’s not happening anytime soon," he clarified. "The kids are still in school. I’m empty-nesting again. I have loved having the energy and noise and arguing around the house, but I’m just so happy for Isabella to get back to college. I want her to have that sense of independence again, because my kids can’t grow if they’re under my shade."

While reiterating that he's "not planning on retiring anytime soon," he said that he'll probably step back from the spotlight "a lot sooner than a lot of people probably think I will."

"When I do it," he explained, "it will be because I just want to have the freedom to be with her [Isabella] and her sister, and her other sister and brother. Wherever they are, whatever they’re doing, I want to be there."

Along with Isabella, the former NFL star also shares 20-year-old daughter Sophia with his ex-wife, Jean Muggli, and two older children—daughter Tanita, 32, and son Michael Strahan Jr., 29—with his first wife, Wanda Hutchins.

Next: Michael Strahan's Rarely-Seen Girlfriend Appears in New Family Photos