Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos Finally Open Up About the Struggles in Their Relationship

From the fateful day they met in 1995 right up to hosting their new morning talk show, Ripa and Consuelos are often seen as the perfect Hollywood couple. They met and fell in love young, married, had three children, and took their careers and relationship to dizzying new heights by co-presenting Live With Kelly and Mark.

But is there more to their marriage than meets the eye? Before we find out, let’s quickly get to know Kelly and Mark and the bizarre circumstances under which they got together.

Kelly Maria Ripa was born in Berlin, New Jersey, on October 2nd, 1970. She graduated from Eastern Regional High School in Voorhees Township, New Jersey, where she was a cheerleader, and her drama teacher encouraged her to pursue acting.

Kelly wanted to be a newscaster, but in 1986, she appeared as a regular dancer on Dancin’ on Air, which became Dance Party USA. Ripa was cast in her first major acting role in 1990 as Hayley Vaughan, a troubled party girl, on ABC’s daytime soap opera All My Children.

Mark Andrew Consuelos was born in Zaragoza, Spain, on March 30th, 1971, to an Italian mother, Camilla, and a Mexican father, Saul. He grew up in Italy, Illinois, and Florida. Mark attended the University of Notre Dame but then switched to the University of South Florida, graduating with a degree in marketing in 1994.

The following year, Consuelos landed an audition to play Mateo Santos, Hayley Vaughan’s love interest. But first, he had to win the heart of the casting director, which was going to be tricky, seeing as he had no acting experience.

By the time Mark auditioned for All My Children, Kelly had been playing troubled Hayley Vaughan for five years. Before he even landed in New York, the casting director showed her Mark’s headshot, at which point she fell head over heels in love with him.

Kelly explained, “At that point, I was not a hopeless romantic. I never thought about getting married. It never occurred to me that I would grow old with someone; when I saw him… the photograph of him, I saw my entire future with him flash… I saw it.”

While Kelly fell for a photograph of Mark, it wasn’t quite love at first sight for him. He was more focused on bagging the role. Opening up some years later, he admitted, “My main focus was getting the job, and I couldn’t believe my luck, having been in New York for five minutes.”

Regarding his new onscreen colleague, Mark said, “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.”

And so it came to pass that in February 1995, Mark Consuelos undertook a screen test with Kelly Ripa for a chance to play her love interest on All My Children. But Mark wasn’t the only actor going for the role; nine other actors were also vying for the part of Mateo.

The two actors’ chemistry was instant and lit up the room. The producers had found their man, and Kelly had found her future husband. He just took a while to warm up to the idea.

The night of Mark’s audition, Kelly had a prophetic and portentous dream about her new colleague. She spilled the beans, explaining, “We were on a plane together, flying to Rome, and we had a baby. We had a baby girl… she had red footie pajamas. I am not kidding.”

Kelly told Mark about her dream in front of the nine other actors vying for the role. He replied, “Have you ever been to Rome?” When Kelly said no, he said, “’We used to live in Italy.”

Mark’s answer sent Kelly’s mind into a maelstrom, asking herself, ‘Wait… who’s we?’ She felt this short, dark, and handsome man had some kind of power over her. She’d fallen for him after only seeing his photograph, and now he was visiting her in her dreams.

Did he mean himself and Kelly? She couldn’t stop thinking about it. Mark insisted he meant he and his parents used to live in Italy when he was a child, which is true. But was he enchanting Kelly to fall further under his spell?

While Consuelos did live in Italy as a child, Ripa was certain his use of the word ‘we’ meant she and Mark and was subconsciously suggesting they had been soulmates and lived together in Italy in a previous life. Was he a master manipulator who was love-bombing Kelly to create a bond?

One surefire way to find out would be if he played hard to get, ran hot and cold, then made a massive declaration of love by proposing marriage far too quickly. Once married, would he reveal his true colors by changing from beauty to beast?

As we know, Mark successfully landed the role of Hayley Vaughan’s love interest, Mateo Santos. He played the role for six years until 2001. But even after bagging the role, he wasn’t swept off his feet with the idea of him and Kelly being together in real life.

He later explained to HuffPost Live, “I thought she was adorable, hot […] and all that stuff, but I was very focused — I didn’t really think I had a chance with her, so I wasn’t really focused on that.”

Eventually, Mark and Kelly grew closer and started dating. In 1996, while they were filming in Jamaica, paparazzi spotted them together, leading to a media blitz saying their island escape meant they must be in a relationship. The couple finally stepped out as a couple on the red carpet at the Soap Opera Digest Awards.

In April 1996, less than a year into their relationship, Kelly and Mark planned to get married. But before they could, they split up! What happened next should have set off many red flags, but it didn’t.

Spilling the beans on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, Mark explained what happened not long after they split. “We both had to meet and do an appearance on Live With Regis and Kathie Lee…”

He explained, “When we were together, she wouldn’t talk to me and that made me go crazy.” Mark continued, “So I followed her in Central Park, and then we went back to my place.” Whatever Mark said to Kelly that night in the park clearly worked.

Within 24 hours of their chat show appearance and Mark following Kelly in Central Park, they were husband and wife. It turns out that Mark had followed her into Central Park to romantically get back together with her.

In one of the world’s most famous places, Mark again asked for Kelly’s hand in marriage. And this time, it worked. They flew to Las Vegas the next day. Using a phone book to find a chapel, Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa got married on May 1st, 1996.

Kelly explained how they had split up a week beforehand. “Right before we got married, we broke up. We broke up, and we got back together the day before we went off and eloped. Yeah, we eloped. We went to Vegas and got married.”

She continued, “He popped the question the day before we got married.” Now that they were truly joined in marriage, would Mark be the perfect husband, or would he reveal a darker side of himself?

Naturally, they honeymooned in Rome, making Kelly’s premonition kinda come true. They also stayed on the island of Capri, off the coast of Naples. Mark told Soap Opera Digest, “She deserved a beautiful place to go, and I couldn’t think of a more beautiful place than Italy.”

Consuelos said they decided to elope rather than have a big wedding since “marriage has nothing to do with anybody but me and my wife.” Shortly after their Las Vegas wedding, they had a second ceremony at a church with both of their families.

Nowadays, multicultural couples are an everyday occurrence. But when their characters, Hayley and Mateo, and the real-life Kelly and Mark got together in the mid-’90s, interracial marriages were still frowned upon by some. Mark’s dark good looks come from his half-Mexican, half-Italian heritage.

And when he got together with Kelly Ripa, the handsome couple became one of Hollywood’s first interracial couples. But Kelly and Mark were so in love they didn’t realize it was supposed to be the big deal that some in the media proclaimed it to be.

Years later, Kelly opened up on their interracial marriage, explaining to E! magazine, “It was just two people that fell in love and really had the hots for each other. Now, people reference it quite a bit. And at the time, we didn’t even think about it.”

She continued, “We were just like, ‘What do you mean? We’re in love? Why wouldn’t we be together?’ It’s funnier now. Because when you look back in history, you go, ‘Oh, I guess that was a big deal.’”

Kelly and Mark seemingly had the perfect Hollywood relationship. But dreamy, dishy Mark seemed to change after they were married. His jealous streak soon became a significant hurdle in their relationship.

Even in the earliest days of their marriage, Kelly described her husband as “insanely jealous” and admitted Mark’s green-eyed monster got in the way of their marriage. In Kelly’s words, her brand new husband “used to be insanely jealous, and that was a hard pill to swallow.”

Within a week of getting married, Mark’s jealousy had reared its ugly head in Boston, Massachusetts. Kelly explained, “We went to this Italian restaurant, and the waiter was like a very cute old man; he’s definitely in his 70s if not 80s. He leaned down, and he said, ‘And for the Principessa?’”

She continued, “I thought it was so cute that this little old man called me a princess, and I looked at him, and I gave him my order in a very smiley way. And he walked away, and you picked a horrible fight.”

Mark admitted he became very upset during that dinner, saying, “I was 25. I was pretty insane, but that jealousy thing definitely followed me for a while. I’m not jealous anymore. It’s ugly. As ugly as it feels to the person who has to be on the receiving end of it, it’s such an ugly feeling inside.”

He continued, “If this is any consolation, you know you’re being crazy. The jealous person knows that this is wrong and it’s ugly, but they can’t help it.” Things got so bad that Mark eventually went to therapy.

One year, one month, and one day after they married, on June 2nd, 1997, the couple welcomed their first child, Michael Joseph Consuelos. Fast forward to today, Michael has graduated from New York University with a degree in film. He was originally interested in screenwriting and directing, but the acting bug eventually bit him.

Following in his famous parents’ footsteps, Michael became an actor and appeared in The Bensonhurst Spelling Bee with his mom and dad, The Goldbergs, and Let’s Get Physical (2022). He’s even played a younger version of his father’s character on Riverdale.

On the subject of their elopement, Mark later explained, “I think she might get a little nostalgic or maybe regret the fact that she didn’t get to have that big wedding, but I quickly point out to her that we had a number of weddings.”

Kelly and Mark’s All My Children characters didn’t rush into marriage and elope to Las Vegas, probably because truth is stranger than fiction, and the viewers wouldn’t have believed such a perfect love story. Hayley Vaughan and Mateo Santos eventually walked down the aisle in June 2000.

In February 2001, Kelly Ripa joined America’s most popular morning show, Live With Regis and Kelly. Her new career path saw her take over Kathie Lee Gifford’s co-hosting gig alongside Regis Philbin for the daytime talk show.

Kelly was initially hesitant to accept the job, but Mark persuaded her. She said, “I wanted to raise my kids. I didn’t want to have them and never get to see them.” She added that Mark made sacrifices in his career so she could join the Live team.

Kelly and Mark welcomed their daughter Lola Consuelos on June 16th, 2001. Fast forward to the present day, and Lola has graduated from New York University’s prestigious Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU Tisch. Before that, she had spent a semester studying in London.

At the time of writing, Lola lives with her mom and dad in their $27 million New York townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side in the Big Apple. We’re expecting Lola to have a career in music.

Kelly recently explained how she and Mark decided on their daughter’s name. During an episode of Live With Kelly and Ryan, Kelly divulged that while she was in labor and hurtling across New York in a cab on her way to the hospital, the song “Copacabana” came on the radio.

The opening line of Barry Manilow’s hit 1970s song opens with, “Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl.” So Kelly told Mark, “Lola Consuelos would be a really cool name.” Mark agreed, and the rest, as they say, is history.

On February 24th, 2003, the couple welcomed their third child, another boy. They named him Joaquin because, this time, the NYC yellow cab driver was watching Gladiator starring Joaquin Pheonix on a tiny TV. Just kidding! It’s just a nice name is all.

Growing up, Kelly noticed that Joaquin struggled with reading and writing, and he was diagnosed with dyslexia and dysgraphia. Nevertheless, Joaquin Consuelos graduated from school and was the first kid to go to university out of state.

After Mom and Dad dropped Joaquin off at the University of Michigan, Kelly opened up on her TV show, “We dropped him off at school, and we gave him a hug — it was actually brutally painful. And he didn’t say anything; he was just giving me a hug.”

Kelly continued, “But he turned to walk away, and I said, ‘Wait, Joaquin, one more!’ And he kept walking, and I knew that it was happening to him too — the emotion.” At the time of writing, Joaquin is currently a member of the University of Michigan’s renowned wrestling team. Mark and Kelly recently moved to Michigan to support Joaquin.

In 2007, the couple became business partners when they launched their own production company Milojo, made up of the first two letters of each of their children’s names, Michael, Lola, and Joaquin. Milojo’s first project was an Emmy-nominated documentary called The Streak, which tells the remarkable tale of Florida’s Brandon High School’s wrestling program.

They hold the longest winning streak in American sports history with a perfect record of 451-0, spanning 34 years. The documentary was surely the catalyst for Joaquin’s training to be a wrestler.

Their production company has gone from strength to strength. They produce documentaries for Disney+, Bravo, VH1, E!, Food Network, Discovery, and many more. They made Masters of Reception, Homemade Millionaire, Fire Island, and more.

Recently, Milojo produced Let’s Get Physical, starring Michael Consuelos, who looks just like his dad! In addition to their successful production company, Kelly earns $22 million a year with Live With Kelly... She’s worth $120 million, while Mark is worth $40 million.

In 2007, All My Children celebrated its 40th anniversary. In honor of the soap opera’s ruby anniversary, it was announced that Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos would reprise their roles as Hayley Vaughan and Mateo Santos for a two-episode arc.

Kelly left Regis Philbin’s side to return to acting while Mark continued his acting career in shows like Law and Order: Criminal Intent and Ugly Betty. Consuelos also learned the ropes of daytime talk shows by acting as a panelist for weekly discussions on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Kelly explained, “After many years, I’ve decided to go back to my roots – my acting roots.” Ripa announced, “That’s right; I am returning to my role as Hayley Vaughan Santos on All My Children. I’m not just going back. Mark Consuelos is coming with me. Hayley and Mateo are going back to their crazy love-making on All My Children.”

In January 2010, Kelly and Mark brought their characters, Hayley and Mateo, back to the small screen. It was the first time either actor had appeared on the soap opera since they left the show in 2002.

Kelly spent the next decade presenting Live with Regis Philbin and Michael Strahan. Soon, Mark started showing up behind the morning show’s desk. And when they were on screen together, things usually got hot and steamy.

Whenever Mark joined Kelly, the couple would lower the tone by bringing up tales of their wild bedroom antics. Insisting that love and private time were the secrets to a long-lasting marriage, Kelly and Mark embarrassed their co-hosts but intrigued their viewers.

Even though it was America’s most salacious morning show, Kelly often shared too many details about her and Mark’s love life. Once, she explained she prefers to stay in hotels rather than with friends. “When it comes to like, [friends saying] ‘stay with us.’ I’m like, ‘No, no, no. We’ll get a hotel.’”

Kelly elaborated by telling millions of viewers, “Because I know how freaky Mark and I like to get, so when given the stay-at-the-home option, I’m like, ‘No, you guys are not cut out for it!’” That’s too much information, Kelly!

In 2016, Michael Strahan suddenly left Live, leaving Kelly feeling “betrayed” as he left it to ABC execs to inform her. Kelly and Mark flew to Turks and Caicos for a pre-planned 20th wedding anniversary celebration. The trip was the perfect distraction after Strahan’s bombshell news. The couple even posted a photo of Kelly wearing her wedding gown, which she was surprised still fit her!

As Mark started working away a lot shooting Riverdale, he said, ​​”I’m crazy about her, she’s an extremely patient and tolerant woman, and I think that’s the true secret to our marriage.”

On January 30th, 2019, Kelly appeared on Riverdale as Mrs. Mulwray, Hiram Lodge’s mistress. She explained, “Mark said, ‘Roberto [Aguirre-Sacasa, exec producer] wants to know if you would be interested in doing a role on the show.’ Michael had just played a young version of Mark, and I said, ‘Oh my gosh, honey, they’re going to be so sick of Consueloses on the set of Riverdale!'”

Kelly started naming actresses who could play Hiram’s mistress, and Mark was like, “No, Roberto wants you.” So, Kelly thought, “How can I turn down an offer like that?”

In 2019, Kelly and Mark told Live viewers about the embarrassing time Lola walked in on them in the bedroom. “We started her day off pretty bad yesterday; it happened again… she knocked on our door — our bedroom door.”

To make matters worse, the incident took place on Lola’s 18th birthday. Ripa told the audience, “She shuts the door, and you hear, ‘You just ruined my birthday! And my life! And I used to see in color, and now everything is gray!’”

In 2019, for his wife’s 49th birthday, Mark posted a photo of Kelly as a child. Accompanied was a message, signing off with birthday wishes as an afterthought. “Happy Birthday to my fave. I’m really glad you were born.”

The post continued, “Because let’s face it, if you weren’t, I would’ve been married three or four times by now. Which would’ve been really expensive, not to mention the super tense parent-teacher conferences and all the awkward blended family holidays/vacations. Anyway, happy birthday sweetie.” Gee, thanks!

In 2020, ABC mooted developing a primetime revival of All My Children. The exec producers would be Mark Consuelos, Kelly Ripa, and British soap opera EastEnders exec Leo Richardson.

The latest iteration would tell the tale of a young journalist with a secret agenda who comes to expose the dark and mysterious history of a town named Pine Valley. The reboot is still in the works, and Consuelos and Ripa are slated to appear.

The couple’s oversharing didn’t end at the Live desk. In 2022, Kelly released her memoir, Live Wire: Long-Winded Short Stories. The book became an instant New York Times bestseller and was described as “a sharp, funny, and honest collection of real-life stories showing the many dimensions and crackling wit of the beloved daytime talk show host.”

In one chapter, she wrote about how she passed out after a bedroom encounter with Mark. She explained that she’d been suffering from health issues at the time. Please stop oversharing, Kelly!

Kelly and Mark recently opened up about their marriage on Kelly’s new podcast, Let’s Talk Off Camera With Kelly Ripa. On the podcast, they discussed how they’re still very active in their private lives and how they navigated long periods of separation during Mark’s time filming Riverdale in 2020.

Mark even dropped his guard to reveal a “potential deal-breaker” in their marriage would be if Kelly “cut [him] off,” unless it was due to a medical condition. Maybe this perfect marriage isn’t as rosy as it seems.

In the same podcast, Ripa and Consuelos also touched on Kelly going through menopause and how it affected their intimacy. Mark admitted he “didn’t give Kelly a break” during that time. Make of that what you will.

He also emphasized he’d never experienced months without private time with his wife, “unless I was in another country.” Mark also revealed he’d only recently learned the distinction between physical and emotional intimacy around the time he turned 50.

In 2022, just before Kelly turned 50, she revealed her husband’s superpower. She says it’s his ability to treat her like the only person in the world. “We’ve been together a long time, but all Mark has to do is look at me [and I] feel so special, so pretty, and so young,” she told Entertainment Tonight Canada.

Then she added, “He’s got the best smile I’ve ever seen, so when he smiles, it’s like the sun’s shining on you.”

That same year, Kelly admitted she and Mark Consuelos were too young to get married at 25. She told People magazine, “On paper, it should not have worked, and when it didn’t work, we really worked at it.”

She explained, “We fought for our marriage when it would have been easier to quit and throw in the towel.” But through all the ups and downs of marriage, Kelly confessed their love life “has always been very good.” She added that “even when we’re arguing, it’s good.”

In the same interview, Kelly confessed that wasn’t the only time she nearly walked away. “There were moments when I was like, ‘We’re going to be that couple: Our third child goes to college, and we get divorced because this is it.’”

She continued, “But there was this other moment where we went to the beach alone for the first time since our honeymoon with cheese and a baguette … I realized I had never noticed the sunset because I was making sure our kids didn’t run into the water.”

In April 2023, Mark took over Ryan Seacrest’s duties. Kelly told People, “To have Mark join me at that desk every day, it’s a dream come true. We’ve been so uniquely blessed. It’s going to be off the rails!” Mark added, “I had filled in so many times and had a blast every single time. I can’t think of anybody that I feel more safe with and protected by than Kelly.”

Finally, Ripa confessed how she and Mark make their tumultuous marriage work––date nights, giving each other lots of space, and not giving up just because they have a fight or argument.