Mark Consuelos announced on “Live” the morning of Monday, July 27 that his wife Kelly Ripa is expected to be absent from their talk show for the next week after undergoing a painful mouth surgery, People says they learned from her rep. The surgery, a fix for gum recession, involves removing a piece of tissue from a different place in the mouth and attaching it to the gum.
Mark explained, “Kelly sends her love. Kelly had a little bit — well, it’s not a little — she had a gum graft surgery.”
He continued, “Her dentist said five years ago, ‘You can do it in about 5 years,’ and she joked, ‘I didn’t think I’d still be on the air in five years!'”
Mark indicated Kelly’s recovery is going smoothly, saying she’s “doing great.” However, she’s temporarily unable to do the broadcast because among her post-surgery instructions is an order not to talk.
Former Disney teen idol Kevin Jonas, who was appearing alongside Consuelos, laughed, “Wow. That’s got to be the hardest thing she’s ever done.”
Mark agreed the 55-year-old is “such a great conversationalist” and said he’s doing his best to make sure she follows the rules and directions given by her dentist. For example, she has to eat only soft foods and can’t use straw.
He’s said she’s found one rule hard to follow: the stipulation that she isn’t allowed to inspect the surgical site. He says Kelly asked him to take a peek at it last night, but he was hesitant to break the doctor’s orders by pulling her lip down. However, he says he ended up assuring her “It looks great!”
He said he can tell the surgery pain was bad because Kelly has a famously high pain tolerance, typically foregoing novacaine at the dentist. “But this one hurts,” he said.
Mark Shares a Funny Story About a Swim Accident on a Recent Broadcast
On one of Kelly’s last days on the air prior to her surgery, she and Consuelos laughed about a funny moment where they once visited their 25-year-old daughter Lola at a camp in Maine, and all the moms forced the dads to take the job of braving nature in what they called “the snake lake.”
Mark says he got laughed at by the other dads for showing up in a small swimsuit with an 5-inch inseam while sporting fully shaved legs and huge quads due to his cycling endeavors.
“Mark came out, he came out of the bunk, and he looks at me and he goes, ‘Poor Lola,'” Kelly recalled. “It was amazing.”
Mark good-naturedly added, “It was like being in gym class again.”
Who Is On ‘Live With Kelly & Mark’ This Week? July 27-31 Lineup: Don’t Miss Lacey Chabert on Tuesday
GettyAlthough Kelly will be absent, fans can still enjoy a star-studded lineup on “Live” this week, which is listed on the program’s official website. Along with Kevin Jonas, the show featured rapper Common and comedian Mary Beth Barone.
Jonas will be back on Tuesday, as well as Joe Buck and Hallmark favorite Lacey Chabert.
Wednesday will feature Mila Kunis, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Ice-T, followed by John David Washington, K. Michelle, and Pamela Adlon on Thursday.
Friday will wrap up the week with “Scandal” star Scott Foley who played Olivia Pope’s off-on lover Jake, Andrew Garfield, and Max Greenfield.
