Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos are Hollywood power couple goals. They met on the set of All
My Children back in 1995, and have been happily hitched ever since. But that doesn't mean their
marriage has always been easy. Here's the truth about their unique and long-lasting relationship.
"I hope all the girls that were mean to me in high school are watching this right now."
As co-stars on the daytime soap opera All My Children,
Ripa and Consuelos knew they were meant to be from the very beginning. In fact,
Ripa knew he was the one before she ever met him. She told Radio Andy,
"I saw my husband in a photograph before I saw him.
And I knew when I saw him. I knew when I saw his photograph."
"I fell in love with mark the day I met him."
Ripa was tasked with acting alongside Consuelos for his screen test,
and he was immediately attracted to her too. Even so, he admitted to HuffPost,
"I didn't really think I had a chance with her."
Clearly, the couple was meant to be. Fans of the soap stars could see that
Kelly and Mark had smoldering chemistry on screen and off, but it turns out that their
relationship was off and on, too. In '95, they were asked to appear on Live with Regis and
Kathie Lee to surprise fans for the Mom's Dream Come True Special. Something was certainly up,
though, because the two weren't talking to each other. Consuelos recalled on the show,
"We actually had an argument, Kelly and I, and hadn't spoken for a few days. It was ridiculous."
However, they quickly realized their argument was meaningless compared to
what one of the moms who appeared on the show had gone through — and they
immediately got back together. That night, they had pizza and wine at Mark's apartment,
and that's when he asked her to marry him. Ripa was somewhat surprised, recalling,
"I said to him, 'Ask me when you're serious.' And he said, 'I am serious.'"
They made it official the very next day. This couple didn't spend a single minute
on planning a big, extravagant wedding — and the pair got hitched on a whim.
After Mark proposed, Ripa supposedly said,
"Let's go to Vegas tomorrow and get married. We're not working. We have the day off. Let's do it."
As she shared on her show, a limo picked them up, and the pair wed in a little chapel in Las Vegas.
Ripa carried plastic flowers and wore a white dress she bought five years earlier,
at a Barney's warehouse sale. It fit then, and it still fits now! For their 20th anniversary,
she posed in the gown for a celebratory snap with her hubby.
Considering their last-minute wedding, it should come as no surprise that the pair
didn't have rings to exchange at the altar. Apparently, simply being together was more
important to this celebrity couple than showing off expensive bling. It wasn't until 10 years into
their marriage that Consuelos finally put a ring on it. Ripa admitted to the Unqualified podcast,
"It must have been making him feel a certain way that I didn't have a ring.
So for our 10th anniversary we bought me a ring."
Ripa now regularly rocks her diamond wedding band on her morning talk show.
But she says her engagement ring is the most precious thing she owns. As she told Elle,
"I'm sure my kids will drag it from my dead body, but I will
never part with it because it's so special." Though Ripa and Consuelos wrapped their last
episode of All My Children back in 2010, the two still enjoy working together. Mark told Elle,
"We're superpartners in crime, my wife and I."
And they're very successful business partners too. In 2007, the pair officially launched
their own production company, with the aim of telling even more stories together.
Milojo Productions — created using the first two letters of each of their kids' names (Michael,
Joaquin and Lola) — produces all sorts of content that ranges from Emmy-nominated documentaries to
digital shows you can stream from your sofa. They even produced a reality series that is
strikingly similar to their own soap opera days called Dirty Soap. Ripa explained to E! News,
"The goal is to eventually get off camera,
some day. Because as you can see, we are not gorgeous like soap stars are."
We just have to say that when it comes to these two, their good looks might just last a lifetime.
With a recurring role on Riverdale as Hiram Lodge, Consuelos spends a lot of his time
filming in Canada, while Ripa spends each morning in New York City starring on Live with Kelly and
Ryan. And the price of their individual success is that they're forced to spend a lot of time apart.
For many married couples, living thousands of miles away from their spouse on a regular basis
isn't exactly an appealing situation. But, surprisingly,
this celebrity duo's life has always been like that. Ripa shared with People,
"We're actors. We've done it for years. It's not hard. It's
actually something we're quite good at."
And when it comes down to it, it seems that collective independence
is a definite strength for the couple. Ripa explained to Good Housekeeping,
"[Mark] doesn't need to take me everywhere or do everything with me."
Apparently, if Consuelos is feeling a guys' night,
he gets it. And it's the same for Ripa and her gal pals. But of course,
this doesn't mean they never miss each other. Consuelos sweetly confessed to Ripa on Live,
"You know what I found out. Being away from home so much,
I don't really sleep very well when I'm not with you."
Still, it seems that sometimes, this couple spends 24/7 with each other — and all for the cameras!
"It's so weird when you're here because I just saw you at home."
In 2016, Ripa was in search of a new co-host to join her on Live, after former host Michael
Strahan suddenly moved on to Good Morning America. It was a tumultuous transition for the show,
as well as for Ripa. But after having her husband appear multiple times alongside her,
it only made sense that he might be a likely candidate to fill the empty seat at the table.
Ripa told Vanity Fair of her search for a co-host,
"No one would make me happier than Mark."
Even though they had worked together many times before,
the pair ultimately chose not to become co-hosts on Live. Viewers often see Ripa
divulging personal — and sometimes even deeply embarrassing — stories about her family on air,
and with her husband hosting beside her, the two would pretty much be an open book. Ripa admitted,
"He values our marriage and he says that he doesn't see
how we could stay married and both do that show."
A year later, Ripa finally found her new co-host,
Ryan Seacrest, who she lovingly refers to as her "other husband" on Instagram.
Even though All My Children wrapped years ago, these two stars of the small screen
have occasionally found themselves back in the biz together. In 2019, Ripa appeared
in an episode of Riverdale — as Mark's character's mistress. She joked on Instagram,
"23 years of auditioning for a role I was born to play."
"I'm no kept woman. I do a job, I get paid for it."
Ripa revealed to Vanity Fair that when her husband initially asked her to take on the racy role,
she thought it was hilarious. But the director really wanted her,
so Ripa signed on. She later admitted to Entertainment Weekly,
"It thrilled me to no end to play my husband's mistress."
Consuelos was proud to see his wife back on set again. Plus, having Ripa filming in Canada
meant more time together for the otherwise busy couple. And even though we haven't seen
Kelly's mistress character re-appear in any episode since, Consuelos teased to Vanity Fair,
"It's definitely not a closed thing. I think there's definitely an
opportunity for [her] to come back." While this power couple seems to have
a picture-perfect marriage, it's just like any relationship — and it still takes work.
With Consuelos traveling around the world for his acting career and Ripa getting cozy with
another man every morning, the occasional bout of jealousy isn't necessarily off the table.
"You really expect me to believe that this thing you have with Ryan is innocent?"
"That is exactly what I expect you to believe."
There's one story, in particular, that Consuelos shared in the book What Makes a Marriage Last,
where jealousy may have gotten the best of him. It was shortly after they tied the knot,
and he was out of town, working. He recalled,
"I couldn't get a hold of her all day. We didn't have cell phones then.
[I] got a really bad feeling [and called her.]"
Reportedly, at the time, Ripa says she was home cleaning toilets.
Obviously the two sorted things out, and after all these years, they still manage to keep it fun and
spicy between them — minus the toilet cleaning. When this pair gets some time off or even a shred
of down time together, they definitely make the most of it. In fact, regularly scheduled
date nights are one of the ways they've successfully made it work, for decades.
But it wasn't always that way for the pair. Ripa admits that back in the day,
she didn't even have time for herself. She told Redbook,
"It was work and kids and work and kids and more work and more kids,
and I nearly got lost in the shuffle."
When Mark encouraged her to focus a little more on herself, Ripa found that she was a
better wife and mother. When it comes to these two, the secret to a successful marriage is
all about carving out time as a couple. And it doesn't have to be fancy either. Ripa shared,
"A date night for us is watching 'Top Chef.' It's really just about checking in,
asking how the other person's day is, and cuddling up."
Ripa and Consuelos have since made themselves a family of five.
And their kids truly are everything to the couple. But as Kelly once admitted on the show,
"I am regretful that we didn't have one more."
She says the family dynamic would have been a little better
balanced — at least when it comes to heated discussions. She explained,
"You always have two against one. It is just the way it is. It's unavoidable."
Even though they're now adults, it seems as though even the kids wanted a younger sibling too. They
asked about one all the time growing up. Still, Ripa is resigned to enjoying her happy family the
way that it is. She joked with Good Housekeeping about having more kids, back in 2012, saying,
"They start giving you the 'advanced maternal age' warning at 35. So it scares me."
With her constant use of the hashtag "daddy" on Instagram, it's clear that Ripa is still very
much attracted to her hotty hubs. But that's not why she refers to him by that pet name.
"It's fine. We're married. I can do this."
It all started over a decade ago, when Consuelos was out of town,
filming. The couple's good friend, Andy Cohen, happened to be at Ripa's house
one night when Consuelos called to check in on the family. When Cohen answered,
Mark asked him to make sure one of their doors was locked. According to Esquire, Cohen recalled,
"[I said] 'Sure, OK, daddy.' And that's where it started, and it stuck."
Now, even their fans refer to the actor as
"daddy," and many of Ripa's Instagram posts tag it too.
We're all familiar with even the most happy celebrity couples hitting the skids and
splitting up for good. But these two stars have stood the test of time. Ripa told Unqualified,
"Relationships evolve. We're just lucky enough that we evolved together."
But they've also clearly earned the stability that they enjoy in their marriage. During the first
year that they were together, they had little arguments all the time. Ripa explained to Redbook,
"We looked at each other one day and said, 'We're in this for the long haul,
so let's make it fun.' You work on your marriage the same way you work at your job."
"I don't think you've said the word 'I'm sorry' to me ever."
"I've never done anything wrong." "That's right."
Luckily for Ripa, many of their family moments have been captured on Live throughout her many
years on the show. Looking back, they both consider themselves fortunate to
have found their soulmates so early on, in life. Ripa mused on the show,
"We've really built a life together."
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