Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos' Relationship Timeline
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Dotdash Meredith and Yahoo Inc. may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos are sharing the small screen once again.
On Feb. 16, 2023, it was announced that Consuelos will be joining his wife as her new co-host on Live following Ryan Seacrest's departure from the daytime show. The series will be officially rebranded as Live with Kelly and Mark
The couple first met in 1995 when Consuelos filmed a screen test with Ripa for All My Children. Their chemistry was instant, and after Consuelos was hired to play Ripa's love interest on the daytime drama, their relationship turned romantic. Less than a year into their romance, they eloped in Las Vegas in 1996, and have since welcomed three children together.
RELATED: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos Celebrate Their 26th Anniversary: 'Love of My Life'
"We're very lucky that we found each other, that's what I have to say," Ripa told AOL in a 2015 interview. "I would say to Mark, 'Who would we have married if not each other?' "
From their costarring soap opera days to their sweet social media tributes, here's everything you need to know about Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos' relationship.
1995: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos meet at his audition for All My Children
Ann Limongello/ABC
While Ripa first met her future husband at his audition for All My Children, the actress had already been impressed by a photograph of Consuelos. The show was looking for an actor to cast as the love interest for Ripa's character Hayley Vaughan, and when the casting director showed her Consuelos' picture, Ripa had a premonition.
"When I saw him, the photograph of him, I saw my entire future with him flash before [my eyes] — like I saw it," she revealed in 2018 on "Lunch with Bruce." "And I don't believe in any of that and now I do because of that moment."
However, Consuelos had no idea he even had a chance with Ripa after their steamy screen test. "I thought she was adorable, hot and sexy 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," he told HuffPost Live.
Consuelos' focus paid off, and he was cast as Mateo Santos on the show. The pair started dating shortly after.
February 1996: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos make their public debut as a couple
Barry King/Liaison/Getty
Consuelos and Ripa tried to keep their romance quiet in the beginning to avoid any professional conflicts. "People tend to think there'll be problems when you're dating your costar," Consuelos later shared.
After a few months of dating, however, the couple finally made their public debut on the red carpet at the Soap Opera Digest Awards.
April 1996: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos briefly split up
Less than a year into their relationship, the couple briefly broke up. But as Ripa later pointed out, their separation didn't last long. In fact, they got married the very next week.
"Right before we got married, we broke up," she shared on an episode of the Comments by Celebs podcast. "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."
May 1, 1996: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos elope in Las Vegas
After they reconciled from their brief split, Consuelos proposed by asking Ripa: "Since we don't have to work tomorrow, why don't we fly to Vegas and get married?"
The pair jetted off to Las Vegas the next day and tied the knot at the Chapel of the Bells.
May 1996: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos go to Rome and Capri for their honeymoon
Donna Svennevik/Walt Disney Television via Getty
For their honeymoon, the newlyweds headed to Italy, where they took in the sights in Rome and Capri. As Consuelos later told Soap Opera Digest, "She deserved a beautiful place to go, and I couldn't think of a more beautiful place than Italy."
June 2, 1997: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos welcome their first child together
Kelly Ripa/Instagram
Just over a year after Ripa and Consuelos wed in Las Vegas, Ripa gave birth to their first child, Michael Joseph. The pair chose their All My Children costar Eva LaRue to be Michael's godmother.
June 2000: Ripa and Consuelos' characters tie the knot on All My Children
Ripa and Consuelos got to relive their big day in June 2000 when their characters Hayley and Mateo got married on All My Children.
"I think [Kelly] might get a little nostalgic or maybe regret the fact that she didn't get to have that big wedding," Consuelos later said of the couple's elopement. "But I quickly point out to her that we had a number of weddings."
February 2001: Kelly Ripa joins Live! With Regis and Kelly with the support of Mark Consuelos
In early 2001, Ripa embarked on a new career journey when she took over Kathie Lee Gifford's co-hosting gig alongside Regis Philbin for the daytime talk show.
Years later, Ripa revealed that while she was initially hesitant to accept the job, Consuelos persuaded her.
"I wanted to raise my kids. I didn't want to have them and never get to see them," she said in 2021, adding that Consuelos "made sacrifices" so that Ripa could be more hands-on with their children's day-to-day activities.
June 16, 2001: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos welcome daughter Lola to the family
Kelly Ripa/Instagram
Ripa and Consuelos welcomed their second child, daughter Lola Grace, to the family shortly after she joined Live!.
The couple had originally planned to name their new arrival Sophie, but on their ride to the hospital, the taxi driver was playing "Copacabana" by Barry Manilow.
"I heard that [lyric], when he said, 'Her name was Lola,' and I said to Mark, 'Lola Consuelos would be a really cool name.' And he said, 'If she's a girl, let's name her Lola.' And that was it," Ripa later explained on her show.
February 24, 2003: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos welcome their third child
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Ripa and Consuelos welcomed their son Joaquin Antonio on Feb. 24, 2003. They shared the happy news on Live! With Regis and Kelly, with Ripa calling her co-host Philbin from her hospital bed while he was taping the show.
2007: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos start their own production company
In 2007, the couple became business partners when they launched their production company Milojo, which is a combination of the first two letters of each of their children's names.
January 2010: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos return to All My Children
In honor of the soap opera's 40th anniversary, Ripa and Consuelos reprised their roles for a two-episode arc on All My Children.
April 2016: Mark Consuelos supports Kelly Ripa through Michael Strahan's departure from Live!
In April 2016, Ripa's co-host Michael Strahan announced his departure from the daytime talk show. At the time, a source told PEOPLE that Ripa felt "betrayed and so hurt" after she was blindsided by the news. However, as she later revealed on the cover of PEOPLE, Ripa's husband helped her gain some perspective.
"Mark is such a smart guy and is always in the face of business very dispassionate," she said of Consuelos. "He looks at it like a business decision, and he says to me, 'There's nobody better at this than you,' spoken like a supportive spouse."
April 2016: Kelly Ripa wears her wedding dress for her and Mark Consuelos' 20th wedding anniversary
Courtesy Kelly Ripa Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa
Shortly after Strahan's announcement, the couple jetted off with their children to Turks and Caicos for a pre-planned 20th wedding anniversary celebration. As a source told PEOPLE at the time, the trip was just the distraction Ripa needed after the bombshell news.
"It's fortuitous that she had this trip planned with her husband," the insider revealed.
However, as Ripa revealed on Live! after returning home, there were plenty of high notes to celebrate from the trip despite its initial turbulence. She shared photos from the getaway with Strahan and the audience, including one sweet snap of Ripa posing with Consuelos in a long white dress — which she revealed was actually her wedding gown!
Ripa explained that while she married Consuelos 20 years ago, she'd actually owned the dress for 25 years.
"I didn't buy it as a wedding dress. I just bought it because it was really pretty, and I wanted to buy something from the Barney's Warehouse sale," Ripa shared, before calling the purchase "the best $199 I ever spent in my life."
January 30, 2019: Kelly Ripa plays Mark Consuelos' mistress on Riverdale
Ripa and Consuelos got the chance to relive their costarring days when she guest-starred on his show Riverdale in 2019. While Ripa originally played Consuelos' wife on All My Children, she took on the role of mistress to his character Hiram Lodge for her Riverdale debut.
The actress announced her guest appearance on Instagram with a photo from set. "It's a family affair … Hiram's mistress. 23 years of auditioning for a role I was born to play," she captioned the post.
Consuelos also spoke to PEOPLE ahead of the episode's premiere about having his wife on set.
"It was so much fun," he shared. "We got to spend the weekend up in Vancouver [where Riverdale is filmed] and we had a nice little weekend there."
June 16, 2019: Kelly Ripa shares that her daughter walked in during an intimate moment with Mark Consuelos
Live with Kelly and Ryan
Consuelos has served as Ripa's co-host on Live! plenty of times over the years, but during an especially memorable appearance in 2019, the couple recounted the story of when their daughter Lola walked in on them having sex.
"We started her day off pretty bad yesterday; it happened again," Consuelos revealed, noting that it was actually Lola's 18th birthday when the embarrassing encounter took place. "She knocked on our door — our bedroom door."
"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,' " Ripa told the audience.
February 2020: Mark Consuelos surprises Kelly Ripa with flowers for the anniversary of the day they met
On the 26th anniversary of the day they met, Consuelos surprised Ripa by showing up at her gym with flowers. However, Ripa didn't immediately recognize her husband, and walked past him on her way out.
"I have my ear pods in and I hear, 'Hey sexy.' And it's so funny, it never occurs to me that this person is talking to me," she shared on Live with Kelly and Ryan, adding that she thought she was about to be mugged. "So I look up and my husband is there. And he was talking to me, it turns out!"
February 9, 2020: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos attend the Academy Awards
Amy Sussman/Getty Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos
Ripa and Consuelos attended the Academy Awards together on Feb. 9, 2020, and were joined by Ripa's other "husband" — her Live with Kelly and Ryan co-host, Seacrest.
On the red carpet, Ripa joked that the two men should keep their distance from her.
"I'm wearing full-body makeup and I don't want to get it on you and you, my two husbands," she told Consuelos and Seacrest.
September 30, 2020: Kelly Ripa reveals Mark Consuelos' "superpower"
Ahead of her 50th birthday, Ripa told ET Canada that her husband's "superpower" is his ability to treat his spouse "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 said. "He's got the best smile I've ever seen, so when he smiles it's like the sun's shining on you."
April 2021: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos discuss the dynamics of their long relationship
On an episode of the Double Date podcast, Ripa and Consuelos opened up about their "traditional" marriage.
Ripa revealed that while the pair considers themselves "progressive people," they are "almost old-fashioned" when it comes to their relationship.
"She makes the home a home," Consuelos added of his wife.
September 21, 2021: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos reveal the secret to their marriage
kelly ripa/ instagram
During an episode of Live With Kelly and Ryan, Ripa and Consuelos shared some of their tips for a happy marriage.
Ripa revealed that when it comes to resolving issues, her husband always puts her needs first. And while Consuelos added that "love" is the key to settling any marital disputes, Ripa had a slightly different answer: "Love and sexy time."
February 14, 2022: Kelly Ripa says that she and Mark Consuelos don't celebrate Valentine's Day
Despite their long-time romance, Ripa revealed on her show that she and Consuelos opt out of celebrating the romantic holiday.
When her co-host Seacrest asked about the couple's big plans for Valentine's Day, Ripa responded, "Nothing. Literally nothing. We've been together for almost 30 years so we've done everything a person could possibly do."
May 1, 2022: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos mark their 26th wedding anniversary
In honor of their 26th wedding anniversary, Ripa and Consuelos dedicated sweet social media tributes to each other.
Ripa posted a throwback photo of the couple with the caption, "26 years with the love of my life!"
Consuelos also shared an adorable snap of him and Ripa, along with a sketch of two penguins holding hands under the words "mate for life." "Happy anniversary! 26 years. Penguin status," he wrote.
August 16, 2022: Kelly Ripa gives details on her elopement with Mark Consuelos
Frazer Harrison/Getty Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos
On an episode of Live with Kelly and Ryan, Ripa shared details from her 1996 elopement in Las Vegas with Consuelos. "We just had a very normal, very regular wedding," said Ripa. "It really is such an efficient way to get married. And it was fun. We were like, 'Now, this is gambling! Woohoo!' "
It seems the low-key ceremony was the right choice because Ripa admitted that if she and her husband planned a large wedding, they might not have walked down the aisle after all.
"I don't think we would have made it to the wedding," Ripa said. "There would have been hard feelings and blame all over the place. And I can honestly say, we do not feel less married. As a matter of fact, we feel more married than those people, because we're still married."
Ripa also pointed out that their out-of-state nuptials didn't break the bank. "$179 for a wedding, including airfare, cause we had miles and we had a canceled trip or something," she explained. "But $179 in total — total with everything."
September 14, 2022: Kelly Ripa explains she did not "almost die having sex" with Mark Consuelos at Jimmy Buffett's house
During an episode of Live with Kelly and Ryan, Ripa set the record straight about rumors that she nearly died while having sex with Consuelos at Jimmy Buffett's house.
The story comes from Ripa's upcoming memoir Live Wire, where she writes about passing out while being physically intimate with Consuelos six months after welcoming their first child. She fainted after a pair of ovarian cysts burst and later woke up in the hospital.
"I'm talking to the outlet that printed this specifically. If you're not going to bother to read the book and you're going to read an article about the book, then at least read the [right] article," Ripa said. "Because no, I did not almost die having sex at Jimmy Buffett's house."
September 26, 2022: Kelly Ripa admits she and Mark Consuelos were too young to get married
In her PEOPLE cover story, Ripa candidly talked about her marriage with Consuelos. She even admitted that she was "too young to get married" at the age of 25.
"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. Listen, my parents have been married for 61 years and Mark's parents have been married for 55 years. We didn't know any other way."
But through all the ups and downs of marriage, their sex life "has always been very good," Ripa said, adding that "even when we're arguing, it's good."
The television host also told PEOPLE that she was nervous at first about how this new phase of life as empty nesters would affect her and Consuelos' relationship.
"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 said, laughing. "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. These other parents were running around us with small kids. I realized I had never noticed the sunset because I was making sure our kids didn't run into the water when I wasn't looking."
November 10, 2022: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos become co-owners of Italian soccer team
Ripa and Consuleos are the new co-owners of Campobasso 1919. Founded over 100 years ago, the team has a massive fan base in the Molise region of Southern Italy.
"The Campobasso project is the quintessential underdog story," Consuelos said in a statement. "When I sat with [North Sixth Group's chairman] and heard the story about these fans being at risk of losing the sport they love, Kelly and I wanted to get involved and be part of the solution."
In 2022, the team was denied admittance into the Italian soccer league because of "administrative failures." The couple plan to turn things around by building the team's media presence as well as increasing its commercial activities and sponsorship opportunities.
January 22, 2023: Kelly Ripa reveals funny comments Mark Consuelos made when she was giving birth
Ripa shared some funny memories from giving birth while responding to an Instagram post that asked for people to comment "one thing your partner did, said or brought to the hospital that really helped you through your birth experience."
"Do you mind if I eat?" the TV host recalled Consuelos asking.
Also: "I'm going to the batting cages since you're gonna be here a while."
February 16, 2023: Mark Consuelos joins Kelly Ripa as her new co-host of Live
Seacrest announced that he was leaving Live with Kelly and Ryan, noting plans to move back to the West Coast ahead of the American Idol live shows in Los Angeles. The broadcaster will be permanently replaced with Consuelos, who has guest hosted the show multiple times.
"It's been a memorable ride and now I'm excited to pass the baton to Kelly's 'real' husband, Mark," Seacrest said.
"As a fan-favorite guest host for years, Mark is no stranger to the Live family," executive producer Michael Gelman said in a statement. "Having him join the show is so special for us and we're sure that viewers will feel the same."
March 2023: Mark Consuelos tells Kelly Ripa why he doesn't want more kids
In an exclusive preview from Ripa's podcast Let's Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa, Consuelos said that he doesn't want more kids. "I'll be an older dad," he said.
When Ripa pointed out that some older men "were just starting to have kids," her husband replied, "Yeah. And those poor bastards have no idea, because what happens next? You're talking about hip replacements, knee replacements, and they're gonna be that dad, not there's anything wrong with that dad. But I did it early. I didn't plan it that way. It just happened. And we got really lucky that's what we did when we did it."
Still, the actor is excited to see his children have kids, noting that he's "really looking forward to" being a grandfather.
"That's about as much parenting as I want," he added.
March 12, 2023: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos attend the 2023 Oscars
Kevin Mazur/Getty
Ripa and Consuleos looked glamorous when they arrived at the 2023 Oscars together. The couple posed with their arms around each other on the red carpet, with Ripa in a sparkling black gown and her husband in a black tux paired with a blue button-down shirt.
