Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos are certainly one of Hollywood’s most powerful couples. They met on the set of the soap opera All My Children all the way back in 1995, and unlike many celebrities’ relationships, have been together ever since. However, that’s not to say that their marriage has always been easy. “We argue, but we have an allegiance to each other,” Ripa told Redbook. Even amidst many divorce rumors — just like any other big names, they stir up the attention of tabloids all the time — Ripa and Consuelos are in their relationship for the long run.
Funny enough, many people didn’t even know these two soap stars were dating until long after they got married (via Live with Kelly and Ryan). Fast forward to 2020, and Ripa and Consuelos have been together for 24 years. They’re still that adorable young couple that fell in love for the first time. “Can you believe we’ve been doing this for 20 years?” Ripa told AOL. “Because it goes fast.”
From their elopement to the reason why they won’t host a talk show together, this is the truth about Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos’ relationship.
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos fell in love at first sight
As co-stars on the soap opera All My Children, Kelly Ripa — who’s undergone a stunning transformation — and Mark Consuelos knew they were meant to be from the very beginning. In fact, Ripa realized he was the one before she’d even met him. “I saw my husband in a photograph before I saw him,” she admitted on Radio Andy. “And I knew when I saw him. I knew when I saw his photograph.” Their casting director on the popular soap opera had been searching for Ripa’s love interest for quite some time, so when she showed her his headshot, she knew they’d have chemistry — both on and off screen.
Ripa was tasked to work alongside Consuelos for his screen test, and he was immediately attracted to her too. However, “I didn’t really think I had a chance with her,” he told HuffPost, but it seems obvious to say that they really were meant to be. Ripa even remembers her entire future flashing before her eyes the first time she saw him. “And I don’t believe in any of that,” she admitted. “But now I do.”
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos broke up the day before they got married
Fans of All My Children could clearly see that Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos’ had chemistry on screen — and off screen — but it turns out that their relationship was off and on, too. In 1995, they were asked to appear on Live with Regis and Kathie Lee to surprise fans for the Mom’s Dream Come True Special. However, something was certainly up, because the two wouldn’t talk to each other. “We actually had an argument, Kelly and I, and hadn’t spoken for a few days,” Consuelos later explained on the show. “It was ridiculous.”
However, as soon as the stars heard the mother’s story, they realized their argument was meaningless compared to what this woman had gone through — which is the real reason Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos got back together. That night, they had pizza and wine at Consuelos’ apartment. “And I asked her to marry me,” he remembered.
Ripa was somewhat surprised by the situation. “I said to him, ‘Ask me when you’re serious,'” she explained. “And he said, ‘I am serious.'” They made it official the very next day.
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos eloped in Las Vegas on a whim
For being celebrities, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos didn’t have much time to plan a big, extravagant wedding. The reason? The day they decided to get married was only one day before they tied the knot, as the pair got hitched on a whim.
It all started the moment Consuelos proposed in his apartment during their pizza night. He was excited to make it official — and fast. “Let’s go to Vegas tomorrow and get married,” Ripa explained on her talk show. “We’re not working. We have the day off. Let’s do it.” Luckily, she said yes.
In 1996, a limo picked them up, and Ripa and Consuelos wed in a little chapel in Las Vegas. Ripa carried plastic flowers and wore a white dress she’d bought five years beforehand from a Barney’s warehouse sale. “And guess what? It still fits!” Ripa admitted in 2006. So for their 20th anniversary, she put it back on and posed for a celebratory photo with her hubby. We would too, as Kelly Ripa stays so fit!
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos honeymooned in Italy — and are still banned from the hotel they stayed in
While Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos’ wedding may not have been as big as many fans would have assumed, they did decide to go big for their honeymoon. The pair’s romantic getaway was anybody’s dream — a sweet, weeklong stay in Capri, Italy. “Seems like yesterday to me,” Consuelos revealed on Instagram, alongside a throwback photo.
Though Ripa and Consuelos haven’t shared much more information than that, it’s clear that they had a good time on their honeymoon. To this day, they’re still banned from the hotel they stayed in. “It was worth it,” he added.
Even though this cute couple hasn’t had the pleasure of returning to their honeymoon hotel, they’ve visited Italy a few times since. Now, they bring their kids along to show them around the country that Consuelos grew up in. In fact, they even visited his childhood home during their trip there in 2019. “It was just very emotional to go back,” Ripa shared on her talk show.
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos didn't exchange rings until their 10th anniversary
Considering they had such a quick wedding, it should come as no surprise that Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos didn’t have any rings to exchange at the altar. Simply being together was more important to this celebrity couple than showing off expensive bling, one of the valuable lessons we’re learned from Kelly Ripa’s marriage.
It wasn’t until 10 years into their marriage that Consuelos finally put a ring on it. “It must have been making him feel a certain way that I didn’t have a ring,” Ripa admitted on the podcast Unqualified (via The Oprah Magazine). “So for our 10th anniversary we bought me a ring.” It’s gorgeous, too!
The symbolic circular diamond is one that Ripa rocks — pun intended — daily on her morning talk show now. In fact, it’s the most important thing she owns, she admits. “I’m sure my kids will drag it from my dead body, but I will never part with it because it’s so special,” she told Elle. It was the perfect gift for the pair to commemorate a decade together.
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos are also business partners
Though Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos’ last episode of All My Children aired in 2010, the two still like to work together. “We’re superpartners in crime, my wife and I,” Consuelos told Elle – and they’re super successful too. In 2007, Ripa and Consuelos officially became business partners, and started up their own production company to tell more stories together.
Milojo Productions, named after the first two letters of each of their kids’ names, creates all sorts of content that ranges from Emmy-nominated documentaries to digital content you can stream from your sofa. Funny enough, they’ve even produced a reality series that is strikingly similar to their soap opera days called Dirty Soap. “The goal is to eventually get off camera, some day,” Ripa told E! News. “Because as you can see, we are not gorgeous like soap stars are.” We couldn’t disagree more!
Many times, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos live miles apart
With a recurring role on Riverdale, Mark Consuelos spends a lot of time in Canada, while Kelly Ripa spends each morning in New York City starring on Live with Kelly and Ryan — so unfortunately, they spend a lot of time apart.
For many married people, living thousands of miles away from our spouse on a regular basis isn’t exactly the romantic idea we had in mind. Surprisingly, this celebrity couple has always had a life like that. “We’re actors,” Ripa explained to People. “We’ve done it for years. It’s not hard. It’s actually something we’re quite good at.”
Truthfully, independence is what Ripa says is her best quality as a wife. “He doesn’t need to take me everywhere or do everything with me,” she told Good Housekeeping. If Consuelos’ wants a guys’ night, he gets it. It’s the same for Ripa and her gal pals. However, this isn’t to say they never miss each other. “You know what I found out,” Consuelos confessed on her show (via The Oprah Magazine). “Being away from home so much, I don’t really sleep very well when I’m not with you.” Aww!
Mark Consuelos was almost Kelly Ripa's permanent co-host on Live
In 2016, Kelly Ripa was searching for a new co-host on Live with Kelly. After having her husband appear multiple times alongside her, it seemed to make sense to have him star on the show too. After all, their onscreen chemistry is the real deal. “No one would make me happier than Mark,” she told Vanity Fair of her search for a co-host.
However, even though they have worked together many times before, Ripa and Consuelos ultimately didn’t think it would be best to be co-hosts on Live. Viewers often see Ripa divulging personal (and sometimes even embarrassing) stories about her family on air, and with her husband hosting beside her, the two would pretty much be an open book. “He values our marriage and he says that he doesn’t see how we could stay married and both do that show,” Ripa admitted.
A year later, Ripa found her new co-host, Ryan Seacrest, who she refers to as her “other husband” (via Instagram).
Kelly Ripa has starred alongside her husband on his TV show
Though All My Children ended years ago, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos have occasionally found themselves acting on-screen together. Notably, in 2019, Ripa appeared in an episode of Consuelos’ recurring television series Riverdale — as his character’s mistress. “23 years of auditioning for a role I was born to play,” she joked on Instagram.
Ripa revealed to Vanity Fair that when her husband initially asked her to take the risqué role, she thought it was hilarious. However, the director really wanted her, so Ripa felt as if she couldn’t refuse. “It thrilled me to no end to play my husband’s mistress,” she later admitted to Entertainment Weekly.
Consuelos was proud to see Ripa on the small screen again, especially alongside him. “I was like a stage dad,” he shared. Plus, having Ripa in Canada meant more time together for the otherwise busy couple. And even though we haven’t seen his mistress appear in an episode since, “It’s definitely not a closed thing,” Consuelos told Vanity Fair. “I think there’s definitely opportunity for [her] to come back.” We would love to see that!
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos do get jealous
While Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos seem to have a picture perfect marriage, it still takes work. With Consuelos traveling around the world for his acting career and Ripa sitting side-by-side with another man every morning on our televisions, jealousy does happen.
There’s one story, in particular, that Consuelos shared in the book What Makes a Marriage Last, where his jealousy may have gotten the best of him. It was shortly after they tied the knot, and he was away working on the east coast. “I couldn’t get a hold of her all day,” he said. “We didn’t have cell phones then.” He added that he “got a really bad feeling,” so he decided to call her up and ask what she was up to.
The young Ripa said she was home cleaning toilets. “Apparently he thought that sounded very fishy,” she admitted, so her husband secretly flew home to try and catch her cheating. “I have a johnny mop in one hand, and I’m wearing a bathrobe,” Ripa explained embarrassingly, and that was when their trust seemed to be officially established. “I’m less jealous these days,” Consuelos admitted (via People).
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos make time to have date nights
As busy business people, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos are away from each other quite often. So when they’re together, they definitely make the most of it. In fact, regularly scheduling date nights is one of the ways they’ve successfully stayed together for decades.
However, it wasn’t always that way, as Ripa admits that she used to not even have time for herself. “It was work and kids and work and kids and more work and more kids, and I nearly got lost in the shuffle,” she told Redbook. So when her husband told her to take some time to herself, Ripa found that she was a better wife and mother.
The secret to a successful marriage is all about carving out time as a couple. It doesn’t have to be fancy either. “A date night for us is watching Top Chef,” Ripa admitted. After all, an expensive dinner isn’t what date night is all about. “It’s really just about checking in, asking how the other person’s day is, and cuddling up,” she added.
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos have three kids, but wish they had four
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos have come a long way, as these two stars have since made themselves a family of five. Kelly Ripa’s kids truly are their everything, but there’s still always been something missing. “I am regretful that we didn’t have one more,” Ripa admitted on her show.
There are many reasons that Ripa wishes she had a fourth child — aside from the fact that babies are just absolutely adorable. Rather, she says a fourth child would have evened out their family. “You always have two against one,” she explained. “It is just the way it is. It’s unavoidable.”
It seems as though Ripa and Consuelos’ kids wanted a smaller sibling too, because they asked about one all the time growing up. However, with all of them being grown up, Ripa admits that it wouldn’t be fair at this point to bring another baby along; she also thinks it’s way too late. “They start giving you the ‘advanced maternal age’ warning at 35,” she told Good Housekeeping back in 2012. “So it scares me.”
There's a funny story to explain why Kelly Ripa is always calling her husband "daddy"
With her constant use of the hashtag “daddy” on Instagram, it’s clear that Kelly Ripa is still very much attracted to Mark Consuelos. However, that’s not exactly why she refers to him by that pet name.
It all started over a decade ago, when Consuelos was away filming. The couple’s good friend, celebrity Andy Cohen, happened to be over one evening with Ripa when Consuelos called to check in on his family. When Cohen answered, he asked him to make sure one of their doors was locked. “People always forget to lock this door,” he explained to Esquire, and Cohen answered, “‘Sure, OK, daddy.’ And that’s where it started, and it stuck.”
Now, even fans refer to this famed actor as “daddy,” and nearly all of Ripa’s Instagram posts do too. “I’m all about a daddy,” she told Good Housekeeping playfully. “I like a daddy.”
After nearly 30 years, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos are still very much in love
Many times, fans see celebrities breaking up left and right in the spotlight. Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, however, have stood the test of time. “Relationships evolve,” she told the podcast Unqualified. “We’re just lucky enough that we evolved together.”
That isn’t to say that Ripa and Consuelos’ commitment to one another has always been easy. In fact, the first year they were married, they had little arguments all the time. “Then we looked at each other one day and said, ‘We’re in this for the long haul, so let’s make it fun,'” Ripa told Redbook. Just like the successful business team that they are, “you work on your marriage the same way you work at your job,” she added.
Lucky for Ripa, many of their family moments have been captured on Live throughout the time she’s been starring on the show. Looking back, they both consider themselves lucky to have found their soulmates so early on in life. “We’ve really built a life together,” Ripa told her studio audience.
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