Whenever Kelly Ripa decides to step down from her duties in the Livehe’ll certainly have the support of his husband and co-host Mark Consuelos — but he’s not looking forward to lazy days with his wife of 27 years just yet.
“I think it’s the right thing to do,” Consuelos, 52, said Party tonight in reference to Ripa, 52,’s comments last month that he had “a lot of interest” in retiring.
“He’s been at it for 23 years,” he continued. “When she decides to leave, no one deserves it more than she does.”
He noted: “She’s been working since she was 12 or 13, and she got into the business at 18, so it’s been a long ride. [But] now she’s having fun.”
Kelly Ripa & Mark Consuelos Start The Morning Right in New Live Promo (Exclusive)
Eugene Gologursky/Getty
Ripa spoke with Purist in August about possible withdrawal from Livesaying she’s “risk averse” which explains why she’s stayed with the show since 2001.
“There are other offers coming in,” Ripa said, “but I like to stick to what I know. I am very consistent in everything I do, so once you have me, you have me for life. Having said that, I don’t intend to work at this job for the rest of my life. I’m talking about retirement with great interest, but right now I’m very happy, especially working with Mark.”
Consuelos feels the same way when he works with his wife.
“I love the show because I know it’s always going to be fun,” he said ET. “I know she’s not going to let me fail. She has chemistry with everyone, and I feel supported — and I think she feels the same with me by her side.”
Mark Consuelos strips down, shows off his six pack as he coolly dives into ‘Live with Kelly and Marko’
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Disney General Entertainment/Miller Mobley
The couple first met in 1995 when the former All My Children the actress was filming a rehearsal with Consuelos for a daytime soap opera. The two eloped to Las Vegas about a year later and have since had three children: Michael, Lola and Joaquin.
Consuelos couldn’t resist gushing ET about his love for his wife: “I’m the luckiest guy, I found her and it’s like I’m holding on for dear life. I hope she feels the same way!”
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos joke about their different memories of their first kiss: ‘She slipped her tongue’
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Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
The couple’s palpable chemistry often comes through Live. During an August episode, they joked about the cleanliness of the kitchen in the house Consuelos rented in Canada while filming Riverdale.
“When I lived alone in Vancouver, my kitchen was untouched!” Consuelos told Ripa on the show.
“You had a housekeeper! You had three maids! I met them — I met the housewives,” answered Ripa.
This led to Ripa revealing her awkward encounter with a male housekeeper from Consuelos’ cleaning crew. “You want to know how I found out about housewives? I left the bedroom, naked. That’s right, I said, she’s naked! And then I met the housewives, one of whom was a guy. So I think he’s learned his lesson – to speak up when that happens.”
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Livewhich launched its 36th season earlier this month, airs weekdays at 9 a.m. ET on ABC.
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