Kelly Ripa is famously honest and hilarious when it comes to speaking her mind about motherhood.
And her children have given the mother of three loads of wisdom to pass along to fans.
From the funny to the serious - and everything in between - this is the untold truth of Kelly
Ripa's kids.
Kelly Ripa had always wanted to name her future son Joaquin, so when she got pregnant with
a boy, she and her husband, actor Mark Consuelos, were prepared. But before their son's birth
in 1997, both of Mark's grandfathers passed away. Ripa explained on Live,
"Both of Mark's grandfathers passed away. We lost them before they got a chance to meet
Michael, so we named Michael after both of his grandparents."
Four years later, the couple was expecting another baby. When Ripa went into labor, they
hopped in a taxi and headed for the hospital, with no name in mind. Luckily, the trip provided
them with some inspiration. Ripa said,
"Lola was named, because I was in labor and 'Copacabana' by Barry Manilow was playing
in the cab."
"Her name was…?"
"Her name was Lola! She was a showgirl!"
In 2003, Ripa gave birth to her third child, who she named Joaquin.
Ripa is known for divulging hilarious stories about her children on her talk show, Live
with Kelly and Ryan, but during one of her first appearances on the show, some personal
information accidentally came to light.
Back in 2000, Ripa was invited to audition for co-host. That day, psychic Char Margolis
was a guest on the show, and during a session, explained to Ripa how her late grandmother
was watching over her, adding,
"She's also showing me another baby."
Visibly touched, Ripa wiped away some tears and laughed as she revealed her very personal
truth,
"I haven't told my boss yet!"
Luckily, it made her so memorable that she was immediately hired as the new co-host.
For a woman who's spent her life working in media, Ripa had a pretty strict cell phone
rule for her kids growing up. She even knew the passcodes to their phones. Ripa shared
on The Wendy Williams Show, about her daughter Lola,
"I was like let me just accidentally dial in her code."
"Does she know you know her code?"
"She does know I know her code."
"Okay."
Ripa also revealed to WebMD,
"Parents should never allow kids to surf the Net without supervision. Guide them and set
limits. They won't like it. But you wouldn't allow a young child to walk down the street
alone."
As a kid growing up in the '70s and '80s, Ripa believes that times were much simpler
for her own parents than they are for parents today. When Ripa does have to ground one of
her kids and take away their cell phone, the fight doesn't end there. She said,
"You still have to toss the room, because they have hidden devices. I don't know where
they come from!"
When Ripa's daughter, Lola, hit her teenage years, she wasn't happy with the strict rules
her mom had put in place. Ripa told Wendy Williams,
"I don't think she likes me. But I don't care. I'm like, 'I'm not your friend. I'm your mom.'"
Even though all parents want their children to admire them, Ripa advises parents to take
a step back and really think about the future first. She explained to WebMD,
"Basically, it's my philosophy that doing the easy thing in the short term makes it
harder for parents in the long run. Giving in when you want to say 'no' may quiet things
down momentarily, but you'll just have more of the same - and then some - down the road."
Though Ripa comes across as fun-loving on TV, it's obvious that she's not afraid to
set down rules for her children at home. She added,
"My kids understand that we love them no matter what. And they also know that 'no' means no."
"I can get away with a lot more, I find. Until I'm caught."
"That's interesting. Like what?"
"Like what?"
Ripa's oldest son, Michael, seems to be following in his famous parents' footsteps. It just
so happened that in 2018, Riverdale, which stars his dad Mark, was looking to cast a
younger version of his character. And who else could be more perfect for the part than
his son? Still, production required Michael to audition first. He revealed on Live,
"Everyone there looked like my dad."
"Right. Right."
"Even more like my dad than me."
"You quickly figured it out you're a dime a dozen. Welcome to Hollywood!"
Luckily, Michael landed the role in a Season 3 episode and has stuck with acting ever since.
Lola, on the other hand, isn't a fan of the spotlight. When she appeared on an episode
of Live with Kelly and Ryan in 2017, Ripa divulged that she was afraid her daughter
wouldn't even show up for the segment. Luckily, she did, even though she was nervous.
"Why are you nervous, you just said that you were nervous. Look at these friendly faces."
"Oh my God, stop."
Any fan scrolling through Ripa's Instagram will find the host showing off her three kids.
But Lola wishes her mother would take down all the pics of her, because her friends can
see them.
"When I first started wearing makeup in 8th grade, I look back at photos and I'm like,
'Oh my God.'"
But it's understandable that any parent would want to post about their kids. Ripa joked,
"Why did I have these kids if not to exploit them on social media?"
"This is my daughter on vacation. Lola, would you like breakfast?"
Though Lola seems to be pretty shy when it comes to cameras, she just might get into
the entertainment business after all. She posted an Instagram video showcasing her voice
in 2019. And the video drew major buzz from many big stars - including her mom who commented,
quote "You are gifted."
These days, Lola is majoring in music at NYU. But it doesn't look like she's going to go
too public with her work. Ripa said on her show,
"I've been on her because she has been working on this project. I was like…'I want to hear
what you've laid down so far.' And she's been kind of blowing me off and not responding."
"My favorite thing about being the baby of the family is probably being able to learn
from my brother and my sister."
The baby of any family almost always gets labeled as the favorite, and, for the Consuelos
clan, that seems to be the case. Youngest sibling Joaquin admitted on the show,
"That's the rumor. And that rumor - I think there's a lot of speculation involved in that,
but from what I know from the many 15 years I've been in the family, I can say that that
is most likely true."
But Ripa finally put an end to the rumor mill, revealing the true story.
"I don't have favorites. I only have least favorites."
Siblings are notorious for not getting along, but when Kelly and Mark moved their daughter
into her dorm at NYU in 2019, they were shocked to see just how much her sons cared for their
sis. She shared on the show,
"They really are very, very close, and I didn't realize how close they were until it was time
to say goodbye."
The mother of three thinks the bond may have to do with Lola and Joaquin's ages. She admitted
via People magazine,
"The younger two are really close in age, like, I didn't even know I was pregnant with
the third one because I was still nursing the second one."
Though Ripa's kids grew up on her nearly $20 million salary, according to Forbes - not
to mention their famous father's no-doubt impressive earnings - Ripa wants her kids
to work for their money. When her oldest son, Michael, moved away for NYU, she told Jimmy
Kimmel,
"He hates paying his own rent, and he is chronically poor."
But when daughter Lola got to college, she seemed to find a way around this. Ripa said
on her show,
"We signed her up for a meal program. But, you know, she doesn't like the meals at school,
so she was ordering Postmates."
When Ripa saw this on her bank statement, she immediately cut Lola off, according to
People magazine. Overall, Ripa wants her kids to work for what they want, just like she
and her husband did when they were first breaking into the industry. Even when son Michael's
acting career was taking off, co-host Ryan Seacrest offered him a place to stay in Hollywood,
but Ripa wouldn't allow it.
"No, no, no. That's too nice. You need to struggle."
Back when Lola was in high school, Ripa admitted that Spanish was not her daughter's strongest
subject. But the teen had to get good grades in the class, especially with her father being
of Latino descent. Ripa told her daughter,
"You're half Mexican. Your grandmother is a Spanish teacher. You're not allowed to fail
Spanish."
"Yes."
"It's the one thing you're not allowed."
But dad Mark had a confession to make. He revealed to Recap Rewind,
"I don't speak Spanish. I'm Mexican and Italian. I was born in Spain…"
"Right."
"...but my mom's Italian, and we moved to Italy soon after that."
Claiming that his first language is actually Italian, the actor admitted he's learned a
lot more Spanish since playing his Latino character on Riverdale.
While learning any foreign language can be difficult, having dyslexia makes it even harder.
This reading disorder, along with dysgraphia, is something that Joaquin has dealt with his
entire life. Ripa admitted on her show,
"School has always been a very, very big challenge for us in our household."
But when they found a school that specializes in students learning with dyslexia, they saw
immediate changes; Joaquin started getting straight A's. Ripa once shared that when Joaquin
was nine, he had started doing so well in school that he got to choose a book to share
with the class. She told Stephen Colbert,
"If you master so many books, you can bring in a book of your choice, and the teacher
will read the book out loud to the class."
But…Joaquin took a Colbert-written book that Ripa had recently promoted on her show
- and it wasn't exactly appropriate for kids, though it had all the trappings of a children's
book.
"Nowadays, parents are so careful, and they're so good at parenting, and I became that mom."
Ripa wants her kids to be independent, but she also wishes they lived further away. Her
two oldest, Michael and Lola, have attended NYU, about which Ripa told Jimmy Kimmel,
"I was very concerned. I didn't think the kids should live in the city where they grew
up. I felt like they needed an experience."
So when her daughter started looking at colleges, they visited various campuses throughout the
country. But Ripa explained that both of her kids were adamant about going to NYU, adding
that Lola should come home for visits during Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks.
Still, her two oldest visit home quite often. But as for her youngest, Joaquin, Ripa said,
"He's not allowed to apply within the tri-state area."
Anyone who watches Live with Kelly and Ryan will frequently see the oh-so-honest Ripa
telling stories about her kids - right down to some very embarrassing details. For instance,
during Lola's high school holiday concert, the choir director invited parents on stage
to sing. Ripa explained how she tried to get Mark to go up with her, joking,
"I go, 'Mark, please, let's do it! Let's storm the stage!' He's like, 'She would die.' I
go, 'I know!'"
"Yes!"
Another time, Ripa made Lola answer the front door one day only to discover that Nick Jonas
was on the other side. Ripa remembered,
"Lola turns and starts screaming, she's like, 'How can you have me open the door when you
know I look rachet?'"
Most mothers love sharing these types of hilarious stories with their close friends. Unfortunately
for Ripa's kids, their embarrassing stories get shared with the nation. But the mother
of three is just proud to show off her family, telling WebMD,
"Our kids - well, they're our hearts."
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