He's a soap star, the hot dad on Riverdale, and — of course — husband to Kelly Ripa.
But while we've seen plenty of thirst trap pics of Mr. Consuelos,
there's a lot more to this family man than his stone cold abs. From his multicultural
roots to becoming a household name, this is the truth about Mark Consuelos.
Mark was born in Spain in 1971 to his Mexican father and Italian mother. The family then spent
time in Italy before relocating to the United States, where they lived in Illinois and Florida.
"This one over here is my adorable husband."
While the actor does not speak Spanish, he does, in fact, speak Italian. But considering
his background, he says he struggled with his identity as a kid. He told Teen Vogue in 2018,
"I'm half Mexican, half Italian. So, I was always in this neverland of […] I
wasn't really 'Mexican enough'; I wasn't really 'Italian enough.'
It wasn't till I got a little bit older that it really dug in."
Wife Kelly shared slightly doctored photos of Mark and his dad on Instagram, in 2020, writing,
"The daddy doesn't fall far from the tree."
Mark may be a well-known
figure in the entertainment industry these days, but he could have followed a very different path.
Consuelos admitted to People magazine in 2016 that he originally wanted to become a meteorologist.
But it seems Mark also had another path in mind
that wasn't related to acting or the weather. After enrolling at Notre Dame,
and transferring to the University of South Florida, he earned his degree in marketing.
"And then I realized that I probably didn't wanna wear a suit for the rest of my life."
"The irony is that's all the characters that I play now are always in suits."
But while he seems to be putting his business skills to work in Hollywood, there was a time
when he was working his other assets, on a very different sort of stage. Kelly told Vanity Fair,
"A lot of hot guys in Hollywood have [been strippers]. […] There [Mark]
was in South Florida, he's gorgeous, looking to break into show business,
so he started off as a roadie to a group of these guys, and then they talked him into stripping."
Armed with the unforgettable stage name, Meaty Mark,
Consuelos worked at a Tampa nightclub called Stingers. As he explained to The Enquirer,
"Back then, I was young, stupid , and I really needed the money."
"Mark, Mark, that semisweet chunk.”
“OK."
These days, Mark claims that he still performs for his wife, but joked with Vanity Fair,
"She doesn't tip me for it."
"I'm the luckiest girl in America. I hope all the girls that were mean to me in high
school are watching this right now." Mark and Kelly's love story could be a
Hallmark movie. The two met on the set of All My Children in 1995 when he was cast
as her onscreen love interest. He later explained to E! News,
"My first impression of my wife was — she was obviously extremely beautiful — but she
was really funny, really intelligent, really quick. I realized that if I
was ever to get into an argument with her, I would lose every single time."
"We were friends for a long time, I mean, before anything…”
“Yeah”
“Before we crossed the line. We were friends for at least a week before anything happened."
The pair struck up a romance and things moved quickly.
Mark detailed just how he popped the question, recalling with Kelly on Live,
"We went for a walk in the park. I convinced her to come back to my apartment. We had pizza and
wine and I asked her to marry me. […] [I said] Let's go to Vegas tomorrow and get married.'"
The pair were married in 1996, at the iconic Chapel of the Bells in Vegas — one
year after they met — and they've been happily coupled-up ever since.
Mark has three children
with Kelly. Their eldest, Michael, was born in 1997, just a year after the stars eloped,
while their daughter, Lola, was born in 2001, and their youngest son, Joaquin, arrived in 2003.
"I'm not really excited about having a baby. What's so exciting about it?
I got a grown-up watch.”
“We're so excited.”
“No I'm not."
Riverdale fans may recognize Michael from his time playing the younger
version of his dad on the show in 2018. At the time, Mark posted on Instagram:
"Congrats to my son Michael on being cast as the younger [and much better
and handsomer] Hiram. We are so proud. Love you."
As for daughter Lola, her dad admitted to People magazine,
"As overprotective as I thought I would be when she was born and I was holding her in my arms,
I've mellowed a bit. Because I'm really aware of what a good head on her shoulders she has."
Finally, when it comes to Joaquin, Consuelos explained,
"You'll have conversations with Joaquin where you realize you've
just learned something new about the way he thinks."
The fact that Mark knows his kids so well might be because he makes family
time a priority. Kelly revealed to ABC News,
"My husband had dinner as a family every night growing up and he was like,
'We are having family dinner every night,
no matter what.' And we do that. […] It means so much to the kids, it means so much to me."
Although Mark certainly didn't study theology and
doesn't preach at any church, he was ordained as a minister via the internet, according to his wife,
Kelly. People reported in 2008 that Mark acted as an officiant for Howard and Beth Stern's wedding.
In fact, the couple's request was what led to Mark getting ordained. Ripa talked about her husband's
role during the special occasion, claiming he was, quote, "very nervous," and adding,
"He looked, dare I say, like an official, he really did."
The ceremony at Le Cirque restaurant in New York City glittered with plenty of other celebrity
guests, including Joan Rivers, Barbara Walters, Jimmy Kimmel, Sarah Silverman, and Billy Joel.
"Is he available to marry people, anybody who'd like to get married?”
“Yes he is, as a matter of fact, any of you."
Mark may be known for his acting, but in 2007, he hosted NBC's Bachelor-like dating show,
Age of Love. Viewers watched as 30-year-old Australian tennis star Mark Philippoussis
romanced 13 women who were between the ages of 21 and 48.
An executive producer for the show explained, via Reality TV World,
"[We were] trying to answer the simple question, when it comes to love, does age matter?"
Spanning eight episodes, the winner was Amanda Salinas, a cheerleader from Tennessee.
But even though the show never saw a second season, Mark wasn't done with reality TV.
That same year, he helmed a second dating show for NBC called Science of Love.
This time around, the action was contained to a single one-hour special.
"Science thinks they can do a better job at making love than he can."
According to Reality TV World, the show…
"[Attempted] to prove if a panel of relationship experts with a computer
[could] create a more successful match than natural chemistry."
With either show failing to land a loyal audience,
maybe fans will just have to stick to The Bachelor, instead.
It turns out that
Mark's not only working his magic in front of the camera — he's also
pulling some tricks out of his sleeves behind the scenes, as well. In 2007,
the star launched the production company Milojo with his wife, Kelly. According to the company,
"[It is] named after the first two letters of Mark & Kelly's three children:
Michael, Lola, and Joaquin."
According to the Oprah magazine, Milojo has produced critically-acclaimed documentaries
including ESPN's The Streak, which earned an Emmy nomination, as well as Homemade Millionaire — a
2010 reality TV show that was hosted by Ripa, but apparently failed to hook audiences.
"Mommy's gonna go try to sell this big idea.”
“And when I come back, our lives may be different."
Along with a range of other projects — including American Cheerleader, Dirty Soap,
My Diet Is Better Than Yours, and Masters of Reception — Deadline reported in August 2020 that
the company was set to produce Mexican Gothic, based on the novel by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
Mark has clearly found massive
success in his career, but he also makes it a priority to advocate for several important causes.
Along with being actively involved in promoting diabetes awareness, the star also hosted the
Los Angeles LGBT Center's 49th Anniversary Gala Vanguard Awards, in 2018. He then took
to Instagram in July 2020 to post on behalf of the Free The Families organization, writing,
"Children must be released from ICE detention centers where they are
being held in dismal and inhumane conditions WITH their families."
But Mark takes it further than a simple social media post and willingly puts his
fame and fortune to good use when it comes to charitable endeavors.
In August 2020, HELLO! Canada noted that Mark and Kelly had given…
"$1.5 million to a charity which helps homeless children
get an education during the coronavirus pandemic."
Consuelos talked to People that same month about supporting Women In Need,
an organization that provides services and housing to New York
City-based women and children in need, telling the outlet,
"We realize how lucky we are — for all of us to be together like this
is probably never going to happen again. This time has been so horrible for so many people."
"For us, to be involved…"
"Is sort of a privilege for us."
While they're clearly
generous with their money, Mark and Kelly also own quite a bit of real estate,
themselves. According to Celebrity Net Worth,
"In 2005, they spent $9 million on a 6,700 square foot home in New York City
and later sold it for a $3 million profit. In May 2014,
Consuelos and Ripa [listed] a different [New York City] home for $24.5 million."
Sounds like these two have been actively flipping Manhattan real estate! It appears
that the latter property was a penthouse in Soho which they purchased in 2005 for $9.5 million,
according to Curbed New York. The stars renovated the home, which boasts tons of entertaining space,
as well as a gym with a grotto, soaking tub and outdoor shower. To top all of that off,
there's also an enormous private rooftop deck with a cozy fireplace,
and a generous master suite with plenty of closet space, a steam shower and, of course, a jacuzzi.
According to Realtor.com, they ultimately sold the property for a cool $20 million.
But while that might sound like the ultimate dream home, the family considers their roughly
$30 million New York City townhouse to be their primary residence. According to HELLO,
the jaw-dropping stunner is located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, where the family enjoys
nearly 8,000 square feet of living space, along with five bedrooms and six bathrooms.
And that's not all. The Consuelos clan needs a place to escape the hustle and bustle of the city.
Celebrity Net Worth notes that they also have a home in Telluride, Colorado,
as well as generous accommodations in the Hamptons. They bought their Southampton
home in 2004 for $2.35 million, but it could reportedly now be worth $10 to 15 million.
It's estimated that their properties clock in at roughly $45 million, all in.
"All right, so that's bragging rights for the rest of the season."
There's no question that
Mark and Kelly are doing quite well. Thanks to Mark's soap opera work, his gig on Riverdale,
and his appearances on various other shows — not to mention his other money-making endeavors like
his production company — Celebrity Net Worth pegs the star's fortune at an estimated $40 million.
"My father of my children and beloved husband of 22 years surprised me with a trip to the Bahamas."
But while Mark's cash flow might seem pretty impressive, the outlet did note that much of
that might be thanks to his wife's own income. Take a look at Kelly's net worth and you'll see
that she banks a whopping $120 million with a salary that sits at around $22 million
per year — so it makes sense that her funds help to boost her husband's financial status.
You might now be thinking that since this entertainment power couple is so rich,
they can afford to throw their cash around a little bit. And they probably could.
But it appears that having that much money hasn't made them willing to throw it away on unnecessary
expenses — at least not when it's one of their kids doing the spending. When their daughter,
Lola, enrolled at New York University in 2019, she apparently didn't like the food
that was available on her college meal plan so, instead, she was ordering from restaurants,
via Postmates. Just a few months later, in January 2020, Kelly explained to Us Weekly,
"Here's what would happen. She would order the $7 salad,
but it would cost $25 to have it delivered three blocks in New York City."
Admitting she didn't even know Lola was using the debit card for this purpose,
Kelly immediately put a stop to the luxury spending, adding,
"Oh, we shut down that debit card account she had."
"Is that ok?”
“Yes. Good job. High five.”
“High five. Almost missed."
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