It’s not every day that a star like Kelly Ripa gets real about her personal journey. In a candid moment on Live With Kelly and Mark, the talk show host opened up about her weight with guest cohost Andy Cohen. The conversation took a surprising turn as Kelly shared insights into her decision to quit drinking and how it impacted her body.
Andy Cohen Joins Kelly Ripa on the Show
Kelly’s husband, Mark Consuelos, was busy filming a movie, so Andy Cohen, 56, stepped in to cohost the show on January 22. Known for his hosting skills on Watch What Happens Live, Andy brought his signature charm to the episode. During their chat, Andy revealed that he was participating in Dry January, a month-long break from alcohol. However, he admitted that the experience was a bit dull.
Is Dry January Really "Dry"?
Andy joked about how Dry January felt “boring,” but then mentioned that he was still indulging in edibles. Kelly, who turned 54 this year, quickly pointed out that consuming edibles doesn’t exactly count as being dry. The former All My Children star then shared her own experience with quitting alcohol years ago, explaining how it wasn’t exactly the weight loss miracle everyone expected.
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“I told you, when I quit drinking, I expected there to be this windfall of weight loss, because everybody’s like, ‘Well, you’re gonna get too skinny, and you can’t afford to lose it,’” Kelly said to Andy. It’s a common belief that cutting out alcohol will automatically lead to weight loss, but Kelly’s story proved that assumption wrong.
What Happened After Kelly Quit Drinking?
Andy, curious about Kelly’s experience, asked her what happened after she gave up alcohol. Kelly’s response was both honest and relatable. “I gained 12 pounds. I don’t understand this magical weight loss that people apply,” she remarked. “I think I just took to eating the sugars.”
It turns out that while Kelly cut out alcohol, she may have compensated by indulging in other treats. This revelation highlights the importance of balance when making lifestyle changes. Sometimes, cutting out one thing can lead to overindulging in something else.
Kelly’s Journey to Sobriety
Kelly has been open about her sobriety in the past, revealing in February 2020 that she decided to stop drinking after a conversation with her friends. This decision coincided with Ryan Seacrest becoming her cohost on Live. At first, Kelly planned to take a break from alcohol for just a month, but the change felt so good that she never went back.
“Ryan likes to blame himself for me stopping drinking, he’s like, ‘I got here and you stopped drinking.’ It really was not that,” Kelly told People. “I did a sober month—all my girlfriends did it, we all did it together—and I just never went back to it.”
She explained that the decision to stop drinking wasn’t a difficult one. “It wasn’t even really a thought process. It felt great, I felt like I looked great, I felt like I didn’t feel hungover,” Kelly said. “Not that I was a heavy drinker—I wasn’t someone who got drunk—but even like two glasses of wine at a girl’s night out dinner; I would feel it the next morning.”
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Kelly, who shares children Michael, Lola, and Joaquin with Mark, told the outlet that giving up alcohol was much easier than quitting smoking, which she did over two decades ago. “Quitting smoking I really had to think about,” she revealed. “I was like: ‘Smoking leads to cancer, and it will kill you.’ It was a thing I had to tell myself. And I was like, ‘It gives you wrinkles.’ And that was the thing that was really terrifying. But you don’t want to die early, needlessly, over cigarettes. Over something you don’t even like that much anyway. But drinking was very easy—I didn’t really think about it at all.”
Why Did People Question Kelly’s Decision?
Interestingly, Kelly noted that while no one questioned her decision to quit smoking, many people were curious about why she stopped drinking. “Nobody ever asked me why. But I quit drinking and everyone’s like, ‘Why did you quit drinking?’” she revealed. “I’m not comparing cigarettes to alcohol, but for me it was just like, I don’t do that anymore. I felt better so I just stopped.”
It’s clear that Kelly’s journey to sobriety was a personal one, driven by her desire to feel her best. Her honesty about gaining weight after quitting drinking serves as a reminder that making lifestyle changes isn’t always straightforward, and sometimes the results aren’t what we expect.
