Aurora Starchild
Mark Consuelos is officially co-hosting Live with Kelly Ripa, his wife of 27 years. The Riverdale actor made his debut on Live with Kelly and Mark, which has just undergone its 8th title change since its inception as The Morning Show in 1983.
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Mark Consuelos Has Replaced Ryan Seacrest as Kelly Ripa’s News Co-Host on Live
While Consuelos has co-hosted Live nearly 100 times prior to becoming a regular, the debut marks a more permanent shift in the talk show’s organization.
“This is all feeling very permanent,” Consuelos said after his wife pointed out a billboard of their new show.
“Oh honey, as you know, nothing here is permanent — except for me, evidently,” Ripa joked. “You’re like Al Pacino in The Godfather. [Just when you think you’re out] we’ve pulled you back in.”
Kelly Ripa has been co-hosting the show since 2001, most recently with Ryan Seacrest. Seacrest was Ripa’s co-host from 2017 to 2023 until he left to host American Idol. Seacrest has formed a great friendship over the years not just with Ripa, who he endearingly referred to as his “work wife,” but also with Consuelos.
“Can’t wait to watch you on Live as a fan. Getting to wake up to you every morning is making countless dreams come true. Love ya, brother,” Seacrest wrote on Instagram in March.
Earlier this month, Ripa told People that the transition from Seacrest to Consuelos as her co-host would be “seamless.”
“Ryan is like my — I always say is like my brother, but he’s also like my oldest child,” she said. “So, you know, it’s gonna be seamless.”
She added that the only real change was in the name.
“Nothing will really change, just the different name on the mug,” she said.
Ripa and Consuelos Promised a “Vow of Chastity,” Alluding to Former GMA3 Co-Hosts Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes Extramarital Affair
Ripa and Consuelos also promised a “vow of chastity” ahead of their co-hosting duties, apparently referring to past drama involving T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach, who violated ABC Network’s company policies after engaging in on-screen flirting amid an affair. The former GMA3 co-hosts were fired. Ripa and Consuelos are married, which is a bit different than Holmes and Robach’s situation, but they promised to keep things respectful.
“Mark and I have taken a vow of chastity while we’ll be working together,” Ripa told Watch What Happens Live (via Entertainment Tonight). “Because I know how ABC does not like that. TV partners banging on the side. So, we promise, no banging on the side.”
The vow is probably something many have waited for, or wondered about, considering how open Ripa and Consuelos have been about their sex life. They’ve previously talked about their “fantastic” make-up sex and FaceTime sex rituals. They have also admitted to having sex in a variety of unlikely locations, including on the set of All My Children, which was where they met and initiated their decades-long relationship.
Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa’s Chemistry Is Expected to Make Live “Really Fun”
Considering their life-long partnership, it seems that neither Consuelos nor Ripa are willing to sacrifice their bread and butter, especially Ripa’s quarter-decade-long career with the morning talk show. They also expressed excitement at being able to bounce conversation off of each other, explaining that the entire show is really improvisation.
“It’s improv conversation. It’s super live. Whatever is on our mind is what we are discussing,” Ripa explained to People last week.
“Also, when you’ve been married as long as we have. We start talking about chapters in our lives,” Consuelos said. “And this is going to be a really fun, interesting one that we can look back on, I know, with great joy. And we’re going to laugh a lot about it at some point.”
“Oh, it’s like the world’s weirdest psychological experiment unfolding on television,” Ripa added. “Because, you know, the reason all of these reality shows are so popular is because they’re real people having real interactions. Albeit sometimes in very over-dramatized, over-produced settings. We don’t have any of that. It’s just a married couple working together and working their stuff out on live TV.”
The couple explained that they really have worked out their issues on live TV and that Consuelos has actually waited to express certain topics until in front of the cameras. Consuelos admitted that he’s looked at the husbands in the live audience for confirmation and gotten a look that said, “Dude, you’re on your own. Don’t go there.”
Ripa and Consuelos promised that the show would be “off the rails,” and so far, they’ve delivered.
Live with Kelly and Mark Is “The Beginning of a New Chapter”
At the beginning of Consuelos’ hosting debut segment, described as “the beginning of a new chapter,” his wife endearingly introduced him while touching on their love for each other. She quipped that her husband would be “joining me today — and permanently, until one of us dies.”
“Thank you for trusting me to be your co-host,” Consuelos responded, before giving a shout-out to their original fans, viewers of All My Children.
“Thank you, America, thank you — Hayley and Mateo forever,” he said, referring to their soap opera characters.
“This is my favorite hour or television every morning, I swear,” Consuelos later told his wife. “I’m so proud, and it’s just a privilege to be here with you.”
Joining them in the audience was their daughter and second of three children, Lola Consuelos, 21. Her parents previously told People that Lola and her older brother Michael, 25, have expressed interest in joining as co-hosts on Live. They said that Joaquin, 20, is more “reserved,” but that he is also a drama student and “would turn it on.” However, Ripa and Consuelos acknowledged that any parental pressure would probably turn their kids off of the idea.
“Once in a while, they’ll come on the show as a favor to mom,” Ripa said, “but if they feel like we’re forcing them on, I’m certain [they] will run away from that idea.”
Also joining Consuelos and Ripa was Ryan Seacrest. While Seacrest is no longer a permanent host, he is expected to make occasional appearances from time to time.
