Kelly Ripa Talks About Her Past Drinking and Why She Quit

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Gettyimages | Frazer Harrison

Talk show host Kelly Ripa never fails to maintain a positive disposition, even when she's talking about dark times in her past, like her drinking.

"They're saying that Americans bought less wine last year. It's the first drop in a quarter of a century. Now, I believe this is because I quit drinking, that I caused this dip. I have influenced the market. I'm not saying I've driven people [out of drinking], I'm saying I stopped buying wine and there's a... dip."

Ripa was talking about a statistic from 2019 that stated for the first time since the mid-'90s, there was a drop in sales of alcohol.

Kidding aside, Ripa is now sober, but says it took some work for her to get to that place. She spoke with PeopleTV about the experience, saying part of her decision to stop drinking was due to the fact that she just felt better without it.

"I did one of those crazy 'Sober Septembers,' although it was, like, March. I did it for a month, and I felt great. I liked the way I felt. I liked the way I looked, and I thought 'I think I'm just gonna stick with it.' And that was it."

Last month, Ripa said Ryan Seacrest, her co-host on "Live with Kelly and Ryan," was a great influence on her decision to quit drinking. But clearly it was more than support from her friend and colleague.

"I know Ryan likes to blame himself for the wine industry for having a surplus, but I really just felt better," she insists.

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Something else Ripa and her husband, Mark Consuelos, can apparently do without once the kids are out of the house: clothes.

Ripa also told People that once Joaquin, 16, her youngest with Consuelos, leaves for college, the couple is just going to let it all hang out, literally, while they're at home.

“We’re going to be totally naked. At all times. We are going to change the locks. People are like, ‘Oh, you’re gonna miss the kids.’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know, I wanna experiment with it. See how that goes.’ “

There's a good bet she's not joking here.

Ripa and Consuelos' other kids, Michael, 22, and Lola, 18, have already flown the coop. Michael lives in Brooklyn, while Lola is a first-year student at New York University.

Ripa also shared the secret to a happy life with Consuelos, saying it comes down to the obvious factors, like being actual friends with her husband, and being thankful for what you have.

“We encourage each other. I hate when people say this — because it sounds so dumb — but we are best friends and we love each other and we like each other and we’ve got these beautiful, amazing kids and we feel very fortunate to have found, in this great big world with all these people, we’re just two kids. He’s from Italy, I’m from south Jersey, what are the chances we would find each other?”