Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos became husband and wife on May 1, 1996. Over two decades later, they're still going strong.
The beloved pair have since welcomed three children together, Michael Joseph, 23, Lola Grace, 19, and Joaquin Antonio, 17. And when they're not posting cute Instagram throwback photos of themselves on vacation, they speak candidly about their relationship. In August 2018, the Live with Kelly and Ryan host explained that she actually fell in love with Consuelos at first sight—and it was all thanks to a photograph she came across on the set of All My Children.
"I was not a hopeless romantic. I never thought about getting married. It never occurred to me that I would grow old with someone. I just thought I would be living my single girl life in the city," she said on SiriusXM's Lunch with Bruce. "I had no responsibilities and I was earning a good living on the soap opera...So when I saw him, the photograph of him, I saw my entire future with him flash before [my eyes]. Like. I saw it. I [didn't] believe in any of that and now I do because of that moment."
Though the two have been separated while Consuelos is quarantined in Vancouver filming Riverdale and Ripa is in New York, they still don't shy away from sharing their affection. Consuelos posted on Instagram about how much he "misses his home team." And, on a remote appearance on Live with Kelly and Ryan on his wife's 50th birthday on October 2 he echoed a sentiment he's shared before: he can't sleep without her.
In honor of their love, here's a look back at how their fairytale romance started.
1995: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos became co-stars.
Ripa worked on All My Children from 1990 to 2002. And in 1995, Consuelos was cast as her love interest, sparking instant chemistry between them. "I was drawn to Mark because he was positively an alpha male, and I didn't think I would be drawn to that. But I just worship him," she told Elle in 2013.
1996: They got married.
After a year of dating, the two were having pizza and wine at Consuelos's apartment when he proposed to Ripa. "I said, 'Ask me when you're serious.' And he said, 'I am serious. Let's go to Vegas tomorrow and get married,'" Ripa said on her morning show in 2018. The two eloped in Sin City on May 1, 1996 and honeymooned in Italy. Consuelos shared the honeymoon photo above to celebrate their 22nd anniversary.
1997: Ripa and Consuelos welcomed their first child.
A year into their marriage, Ripa gave birth to Michael Joseph on June 2, 1997. And in 2018, their eldest son followed in his parents' acting footsteps when he was cast to portray a younger version of Consuelo's Riverdale character, Hiram Lodge, in season 3.
"Congrats Michael on being cast as young Hiram Loge on @thecwriverdale however @instasuelos and I would like to take this opportunity to remind you and your siblings that as your fiduciaries we are hereby entitled to 10% of all future earnings hereto wit, or something like that," Ripa captioned an Instagram photo when the news was announced.
2001: The family grew to welcome their daughter, Lola.
2003: Their second son, Joaquin, was born.
Ripa gave birth to their third child, Joaquin Antonio, on February 24, 2003. She actually called into a taping of Live from her hospital bed to reveal the happy news. "Mark and I are so excited to share our news with everyone," she said in a statement, according to E!. "We are the proud parents of a healthy baby boy! We can't wait to bring Joaquin home to meet all of our friends and family."
2006: Consuelos puts a ring on it...10 years later.
Ripa and Consuelos never exchanged rings when they got married, so they decided to shop for jewelry in celebration of their 10th anniversary. "It must have been making him feel a certain way that I didn't have a ring. So for our 10th anniversary we bought me a ring," Ripa said during an interview on Anna Faris's podcast, Unqualified, in 2018.
In an interview with Elle, the 50-year-old star shared the one item she never plans to throw away: "My wedding ring. I'm sure my kids will drag it from my dead body but I will never part with it because it's so special."
2007: Ripa and Consuelos became business partners.
They decided to mix business with pleasure when they launched their own production company, Milojo. Named using a combination of their kids' names, the New York-based operation has produced documentaries such as the Emmy-nominated 2012 ESPN film, The Streak.
Their latest venture was reported by Deadline in August 2020: they're adapting Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s buzzy horror thriller novel, Mexican Gothic, into a TV show for Hulu.
“We feel like we hit the literary jackpot, and cannot wait to bring Silvia’s gorgeous writing to life, together with Hulu,” Ripa said.
2015: The family gathered to honor Ripa's Hollywood Walk of Fame star.
On October 12, 2015, Ripa was honored with the 2,561st star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the category of television. It also coincided with her 15th year as host of Live. To celebrate, she was joined by Consuelos and their three kids.
"It all began with All My Children. And All My Children is where I met the man that I have been married to for almost 20 years—the love of my life, the man who taught me how to be a person, a real person. And we have three of the most beautiful children that I'm so proud of on the planet, Joaquin and Lola and Michael," she said during her speech.
2016: They celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary.
The entire family jetted off to Turks and Caicos—and Ripa actually wore her wedding dress during the trip.
"The story behind the dress is [that] I bought it at the Barney's Warehouse sale. The dress is 25 years old. My marriage is 20 years old. 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," she said on Live. "I said to myself, 'I bet if I buy this maybe it will be an investment piece. Maybe I will wear it more than once.' I swear to you I wear it constantly. It's a beach cover-up now. I wear it all the time. It was the best $199 I ever spent in my life."
2019: Ripa and Consuelos returned to TV together.
In November 2018, Ripa revealed via Instagram that she'd be joining her son Michael Joseph and her husband on the set of Riverdale to play Consuelos's mistress. Their joint episode aired on January 30 at 8 p.m. on the CW.
2020: Ripa shared plenty of shirtless photos of Consuelos.
The talk show host takes any opportunity she can to show-off her husband's impressively fit physique, from steamy workout videos to a couple shirtless pool snaps, affectionately calling him "daddy."
"Sunday vibes 💙💦 #daddy", she captioned a July snap.
And after 24 years of marriage, Consuelos shared one of the many things he loves about his wife.
“I’m married to one of the most voracious readers that you could ever meet. She reads and reads and reads and reads,” Mark said. “And I’m so attracted to my wife and not [just] on a physical level, but her brain is so sexy. Like she really knows so much… she’s been ahead of the curve so many times.”
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As the Lifestyle Writer at OprahMag.com, I cover beauty, style, relationships & love, work & money, health, and food. When I'm not working, you'll find me watching Bravo, on the hunt for the perfect jeans and white tee, or taking my yorkie, Chloe, out for walks in Riverdale, New York.
![ina garten and jeffrey](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/jeffrey-garten-and-ina-garten-attend-the-barefoot-under-the-news-photo-1713807458.jpg?crop=1.00xw:0.668xh;0,0&resize=360:* "2011 "Barefoot Under The Stars" Benefit")
