Kelly Ripa turned 56 on Friday, and her husband, Mark Consuelos, 55, marked the occasion in the most unexpected way possible.
Consuelos opened the pre-taped Oct. 2 episode of “Live With Kelly and Mark” by wishing his wife a happy birthday as the studio audience cheered. The couple, married for 30 years, shared a hug at the co-host desk.
Mark Consuelos Claimed that Kelly Ripa Has the Characteristics of Two Legends
In his birthday greeting for Kelly Ripa, Mark Consuelos then noted that several famous people share Ripa’s birthday. Ripa got ahead of him by rattling off Gandhi, Sting, Donna Karan, and Lorraine Bracco. Consuelos added photographer Annie Leibovitz and, finally, comedy legend Groucho Marx.
It was Marx, and Gandhi, who became the centerpiece of his tribute.
Consuelos admitted that Gandhi wasn’t the first person he considers of when he thinks of his wife, but he painted a picture of what happens if “Gandhi and Groucho Marx had a kid,” he said on the series, as quoted by Entertainment Weekly. He claims that his wife is calm and strong on the surface, but also hilarious.
Ripa played along, telling him that people say Gandhi was funny. Consuelos seemed to buy it, eagerly asking if that was true, until she laughed and admitted she had no idea.
A Near-Miss Name and a Secret Vegas Wedding
The birthday chatter didn’t stop there. Consuelos shared research on the most popular baby names of 1970, the year Ripa was born, which included Kimberly, Lisa, and Jennifer. That sent Ripa into a story about the name she was given by her parents upon her birth.
She revealed she nearly ended up a Kim, but neighbors down the street had already given their daughters the names Kim and Kelly. Her parents had been considering the same pair for Ripa and her sister, and decided it was too similar. Her parents ultimately went with Kelly and Linda.
Ripa and Consuelos met as castmates on the soap opera All My Children and eloped in a private Las Vegas ceremony in 1996. They kept the marriage from their colleagues for months, until radio host Wendy Williams spilled the news on air.
The talk show host previously described the moment on a 2024 episode of Live, recalling that she and Consuelos were brushing their teeth, listening to Williams’s show, when the host teased some celebrity gossip. The gossip turned out to be about them. According to Ripa, the tip came from a witness at the Clark County courthouse, and the couple had to tell everyone they were already married.
They explained they kept the marriage a secret “because we worked together and we didn’t want it to be perceived that somehow we couldn’t work together.”
Today, the pair share three children: Michael, Lola, and Joaquin. They are also one of daytime television’s most enduring partnerships and marriages. The couple celebrated their 30th anniversary this past May; they produce content for Lifetime Television and co-own the Italian soccer club, Campobasso.
“Live With Kelly and Mark” airs weekdays in syndication.
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Mark Consuelos Gave a Bizarre Description of Kelly Ripa in a Heartfelt Birthday Message