The Love Story That Began on Set
Mark Consuelos will never forget the first time he met his future wife, Kelly Ripa. Their relationship blossomed into a beautiful love story right on the set of All My Children. Mark joined the show as Mateo Santos, while Kelly was playing Hayley Vaughan. Their on-screen chemistry translated into something much deeper off-screen. It’s a story that’s been told many times, but every time Mark tells it, it feels like the first time all over again.
During an episode of SiriusXM’s “Let’s Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa,” Mark, now 53, reminisced about their first meeting. “I thought she was hilarious. I remember seeing her in the rehearsal hall,” he said. “She had these big curl rollers—or had you just taken them out? I thought she was adorable. But you have to understand my position there.”
From Tampa to New York: A Career-Changing Opportunity
Mark’s journey to meet Kelly wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. He came from Tampa for an audition that his agent didn’t think he’d get. “And a week later, they flew me to New York,” he recalled. “The thought of me making any kind of move on anybody was absolutely out of the question. The whole thing was absolutely mind-boggling to me. I knew I wanted this job because it would change my life.”
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Mark was understandably nervous about his role and his place in the show. He wasn’t just auditioning for a job; he was auditioning for a life-changing opportunity. “I was on a tight wire,” he admitted. “If I met her when I was crossing the Grand Canyon, I would have had the same reaction. Hey, hi. How’s it going? She’s great. She’s cool. OK, I’m gonna make it across, but…”
The First Impressions That Left a Lasting Mark
For Mark, Kelly made a great first impression. “She was very kind, very funny, and adorable,” he gushed. “Maybe if I’d been on my third job, there might have been a different perspective. But I was on a tight wire.”
Mark trailed off, but Kelly chimed in, “Flash forward a week later, he was dating a girl on every network.” Mark laughed and replied, “Well, that was a week later!”
The Moment Mark Knew Kelly Was “The One”
Mark was asked by a producer if there was a specific moment where he knew Kelly was “The One.” “Yeah, for sure,” Mark said. “But I would say that the beginning of the first tremors beneath the surface where you start feeling some different things was when I was running lines with her and she offered to run lines with me for an audition.”
“She told me to come to her apartment. I’m like, OK. And she answered the door in a robe. I was like, OK,” Mark continued, laughing at the memory. Kelly responded, “You were on time. And I was expecting him to be late. I was not expecting him. It wasn’t a play. I was expecting him to be late and he was on time. So I answered the door and I was shocked that he was on time.”
Running Lines and Making Moves
Mark remembered running lines with Kelly in a dressing room. “She had these great shoes on, these heels with these crazy tight but not too tight jeans, but just perfectly,” he said. “You were holding a cup of coffee and smoking a cigarette like out of a Parisian editorial page. She smoked a cigarette like someone who’s been in Paris all their lives. She looked like this French vixen.”
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“And I used to smoke cute. I’ve been told by people that I smoke cute,” Kelly said, laughing at the memory.
A Match Made for TV and Life
Even though Kelly had a boyfriend at the time, and Mark had a girlfriend, their paths eventually led them to each other. They got married in 1996 and welcomed three children together: Michael, Lola, and Joaquin. Mark officially became Kelly’s cohost on Live With Kelly and Mark in April 2023, solidifying their partnership both on and off-screen.
New episodes of SiriusXM’s “Let’s Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa” are available every Wednesday on the SiriusXM app and wherever podcasts are available.
