Kelly Ripa is 'always thinking about retiring,' even as she welcomes husband Mark Consuelos to “Live”
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Over the past 22 years, one of daytime's longest-running talk shows has had numerous names: Live With Regis and Kelly; Live! With Kelly; Live With Kelly and Michael; Live! With Kelly (again); Live With Kelly and Ryan; and starting Monday, Live With Kelly and Mark.
Kelly Ripa has been the on-air constant of the popular series during those two-plus decades, steering the ship after the departure of Regis Philbin in 2011. She even held down the fort twice by herself (with rotating guest hosts) before a four-year stretch with Michael Strahan, and then for a year before Ryan Seacrest joined her — but the American Idol and radio-show host bid farewell to Live on Friday.
Ripa and her husband, Mark Consuelos, will usher in a new era of the series on Monday with Live With Kelly and Mark. Will anything change? Certainly nothing major. You could say the show — faithfully led by executive producer Michael Gelman — operates by the proverb, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Ahead of the couple's official debut as cohosts, Ripa and Consuelos chatted with EW about why it "made no sense but then it made perfect sense" for Consuelos to permanently join his wife on the show and how their "vastly different opinions" make for "compelling television" — and Ripa ponders how many more years she has in her as host.
ABC Entertainment Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Kelly, when I spoke with you for your 20th anniversary on the show, you confirmed that before Ryan joined you were thinking about retiring, but that he was bringing this new energy and it really changed your perspective. In the years since, had you gotten to a point where you thought again about when you'd want to leave? And how does Mark joining factor into that?
KELLY RIPA: [Laughs] It's so funny. Every time you get a new cohost, it's like a little jolt of energy. But to be clear, I am always thinking about retiring [laughs]. It is my favorite topic of discussion.
MARK CONSUELOS: Gerrad, it's called Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. [Laughs]
RIPA: I commend Ryan for lasting as long as he did because I really had my concerns. We're friends, we're open, we've talked about this in the past, but, of course, I had my concerns about him picking up and moving to New York because it's not as easy as one thinks it might be. The sacrifices he made are not lost on me, and I really think he did it for as long as he possibly could. And when it became clear that it would not be Ryan staying and me leaving — I always envisioned me leaving and somebody new coming in to work with Ryan when he started on the show — it at first made no sense but then it made perfect sense that Mark would take over, because it's as seamless as a transition can possibly get for a television show. A daily morning live talk show is nothing without its consistency and continuity. And Mark provides that, not just for our audience, but for me, for our producers. And so if anybody could make me stay, it is definitely Mark.
But make no mistake, I do see a vision of the show without me. I am not one of these people that is like, "The show can't go on without me." I am a fan of Live since before I got there. The bad part about hosting the show for these almost 23 years is that I don't get to watch the show anymore, and that is sad for me. It is a franchise show; I don't believe the show begins and ends with any one host — I think it's collaborative. And I think the next few years provide endless opportunities to test new people out and see what the next iteration of the show will be beyond Mark and me. So it's a real thought process I always have.
So for now that is the plan? Do you have a plan, or are you just following your gut?
RIPA: I think it's a little bit of all of it: It's a sensible plan but while also following my gut. I know Mark is exceptionally talented. I know he is so well suited for this format. I know he loves it because he's done it so many times. But that's not to say we're going to be there forever. Nor should we.
CONSUELOS: I think it's the love for the show and for the staff. And the longevity is what's always been foremost for [Kelly], figuring out a way when you did go, or we both go, that the show's set up with the people that would take over.
RIPA: It's constantly on my mind. It's about the show in totality, not about me on the show. It's about the show.
Having said that, you're eight years away from breaking a record. Maury Povich had his show for 31 seasons. You don't want to try to beat that?
RIPA: [Laughs] I do not.
CONSUELOS: [Laughs] Some records are not meant to be broken.
RIPA: And I hold Maury in too high of regard to even attempt that record.
CONSUELOS: Yes. Well said, well said. [Laughs]
I respect that. You said that at first it made no sense, then it made all the sense for Mark to be your new cohost: What part about it made no sense?
CONSUELOS: We were like, "Wait, that seems like a really bad idea." And we started making a pros and cons list and we were like, "Wait…"
RIPA: They're all pros.
CONSUELOS: They're all pros. Kelly started her career a few years before me, right out of high school, essentially. I came in after college and we met on All My Children and worked together for seven years. Our storylines were together. We were love interests. We got married in real life. We got married on the show. We had kids in real life. We had kids on the show. [Laughs] We had commutes. Long hours. We've done it in the hardest way possible. I know the schedule at Live —it's a really great one. It's conducive to a life after the show, as far as the afternoons. We prioritize family time — not that we have too many kids running around anymore, but every now and then we have one coming through or staying with us, so we get to do that. Or we get to go visit a kid somewhere if they have something going on. So, all the pros stacked up against the cons. But at our age [laughs]… we mull everything over now. "What do you want for lunch?"
RIPA: [Laughs] All we do is ruminate over what-ifs.
ABC Entertainment Kelly Ripa with her husband, Mark Consuelos, guest-hosting on 'Live With Kelly and Ryan'
Mark, because you have guest-hosted before, it's not unfamiliar for either of you. But has it sunk in yet that this is the new daily norm for the two of you?
CONSUELOS: When I would be called on to [guest-host] the show, a lot of times it was last-second. I just went in and was present and did my homework as fast as I could. The only difference I see now is that I'll have a little more time to prepare. I think my approach would be to do just like I did before: Be present, have a lot of fun, be awake — [laughs] you gotta be awake. But yes, I have gone into it like, "Oh my gosh, this is real now. I have to do…" So once I start going down that road, I kind of back up and say, "I'm going to take it one show at a time — think about one show, one host chat, be ready for the guests. And when that's done, do the next one." That's always worked in the past, so why try to screw it up? Also, my partner's arguably the best in the business at this format. I know she's not going to let me screw up too bad.
RIPA: That's just the way we rehearsed that sentence. [Laughs] I really do trust Mark completely. I know how good he is at this job — I've done it with him many, many times over the years. I know all of our producers and camera people and the props guys. It's like, daddy's coming home. You know what I mean? It doesn't feel like a lot of work, and it didn't feel like a lot of work before — it's like switching out my brother for my husband. It's a very familial environment. I just know Mark and I are capable of feeding off each other's energy. We don't see eye to eye on a lot, which makes our marriage interesting. We have vastly different opinions about a lot of stuff, and Mark is not afraid to disagree with me or mix it up with me. And I think that's compelling television.
Mark, I hope your office isn't a closet — I say this cheekily.
RIPA: You know what? He has the best setup in the world because Ryan had the chicest dressing room, and he was like, "I don't want to lug this out of here. Do you want it?" Mark was like, "Yes, sir!"
CONSUELOS: "Yes, I do."
Live With Kelly and Mark premieres Monday, April 17, and airs weekdays in syndication. Check your local listings for the time and network.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
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