It’ll be the end of an era Thursday afternoon when Lori Barghini and Julia Cobbs host the final episode of their MyTalk 107.1 afternoon talk show “Lori and Julia” after 22 years on the air.

To say the pair will be missed is an understatement. They shocked longtime listeners and fellow media types when they announced their impending retirement in March and have since headlined a record-breaking, months-long Minnesota Goodbye.

Fans have flooded the duo with feedback and well wishes, some of which they’ve shared on the air. In recent weeks, they’ve embarked on a mini tour of Twin Cities landmarks, broadcasting live from places like the Mall of America and, coming up on Tuesday, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres. They’ll wrap it all up Thursday with a live broadcast from the Fillmore Minneapolis nightclub. A select number of $75 VIP tickets sold out quickly, while they’ll fill the rest of the room with lucky listeners who called in to score free admission.

During recent shows, Lori and Julia — and they’ll always be Lori and Julia, no last names necessary — have filled the airwaves with their favorite guests and shared more than two decades worth of memories, all delivered in their signature Minnesota-by-way-of-the-movie-“Fargo” accents. A common thread that has run through all of the discourse has been utter disbelief these that we were all about to enter a time when “Lori and Julia” was no more.

In the broadcast world, pairs of personalities are arranged marriages by default. Sure, some folks may develop a friendship along the way, but that’s a happy accident in an industry where decisions are made by weighing any number of factors beyond whether or not the two people actually like each other.

If I’ve learned anything in my 52 years on this planet, it’s that the best couples not only love each other, but they like each other, too. That goes for romantic relationships or business partnerships or, you know, talk show hosts. And it’s abundantly clear that Lori and Julia fit that bill.

Their origin story is every bit as remarkable and unlikely as you’d imagine. St. Paul native Cobbs and Barghini, a self-described Army brat who spent time living in Duluth in her youth, first met in the early ’90s, when they were both working for Carlson Cos.

Lori Barghini, left, and Julia Cobbs, right, interview author Jim Spada on his new book during the FM 107 “Lori and Julia Show” on March 26, 2004 at the KS95 studio in St. Paul. (Sherri LaRose / Pioneer Press)

“I remember Julia poked her head around the corner when she was just starting — her cube was going to be next to me — and she said, ‘Hi, I’m Julia!’ And I thought, ‘Look at how cute that girl is. She’s going to be my friend,’ ” Lori said in a 2004 Pioneer Press interview.

Four month later, a joint ski trip convinced Lori and Julia their friendship was the real deal. Along the way, Lori even married Julia’s brother, the sort of move that could potentially break the strongest of bonds. If anything, it further cemented the pair, who went on to invent fake nipples they dubbed Bodyperks and sold to women eager for some easy silicone enhancements.

The national media eagerly embraced Bodyperks and the pair went on to do hundreds of television and radio interviews. After seeing them interact, a producer for the cable channel Oxygen said the magic words: “You girls are hilarious. You should have your own talk show.”

Despite their lack of broadcast experience, Lori and Julia somehow managed to convince management of the then-new women-focused talk radio station MyTalk to take a chance on them. Forgive me for this, but the rest is herstory.

What’s amazing about the show is that Lori and Julia pretty much made it up as they went along, an impressive feat in a notably rigid industry fueled by strict formatting and rule books. While the show has evolved over the years, it’s still essentially three hours a day of two friends chatting about whatever happens to strike their fancy, whether it be celebrity gossip, local news items, the book they’re currently reading or the latest reality television shows they’re watching.

The true appeal of Lori and Julia is that strong friendship that exists at the core of everything they do. Yes, sometimes they bicker and talk over each other and contradict themselves — just like friends do. They aren’t playing it up for the microphones, either. The Lori and Julia who are on the air are the same Lori and Julia the other 21 hours each day.

(Full disclosure, I’ve gotten to know Lori and Julia over the years and while I’ve been an infrequent at best guest, my partner Patric Richardson has become a regular on their show, both as a guest and guest co-host. I can confirm that the primary difference between them on and off the air is that they swear more in real life.)

“Lori and Julia,” the show, lasted 22 years because of Lori and Julia, the women. Their relationship and chemistry has convinced countless people to spend 15 hours a week hanging out with them and sharing their laughs, achievements and frustrations, but mostly laughs. Just ask anyone in the media, that kind of engagement is rare and almost impossible to naturally replicate.

Two-plus decades in and Lori and Julia are leaving the airwaves at the top of their game. There’s no reason to think they couldn’t have done this another 10 years, but they — or as they’ll both admit, mostly Lori — decided it was time to live lives that are no longer broadcast.

Come Friday afternoon, there will be a “Lori and Julia”-sized hole in Twin Cities media that will never truly be filled. They stand as true one-of-a-kinds and life won’t be quite the same without them. I wish them safe travels and nothing but the best in life. They earned it and they will be sorely missed.

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