Kelly Ripa Reveals Her 'Insanely Jealous' Husband Mark Consuelos Made Their Marriage 'Very Hard'
By Favour Adegoke on March 23, 2023 at 1:00 AM EDT
American actress and TV host Kelly Ripa shared that her husband of more than two decades, Mark Consuelos, had a personality flaw that posed trouble in their marriage.
Ripa claimed that her actor-husband, who took Ryan Seacrest's place as co-host of "Live With Kelly And Ryan," was very envious and displayed this trait when she was around other men.
Consuelos, for his part, noted that he has worked on himself and is no longer a jealous person, sharing that "Live" is his "safe place" for airing his marriage grievances with Ripa.
Read on for more details.
Kelly Ripa Says Mark Consuelos Was A Jealous Husband
The actress is not shying away from calling out her husband for his jealous tendencies in the early days of their marriage.
According to ET, In a recent episode of her "Let's Talk Off Camera" podcast, Ripa, 52, told the "Riverdale" alum that her biggest complaint about him in their marriage was that he used to be "insanely jealous."
"It's very hard being married to somebody who is jealous," she said before adding that his jealousy was a "hard pill to swallow."
Ripa continued by giving an instance in which Consuelos' jealousy affected their marriage only one week after they got hitched.
"We went to this Italian restaurant, and the waiter was this very cute old man," she began narrating. "He was definitely in his 70s if not 80s, and he leaned down and he said, 'And for the Principessa?'"
She went on to divulge that Consuelos picked up a "horrible fight" with her after she placed her order with the water in a "very smiley way."
Mark Consuelos Worked On Himself
Consuelos, 51, stated that he was no longer a jealous man after admitting that he remembered the incident and how he picked a fight with her because of her reaction.
"I was pretty insane at 25 but that jealousy thing definitely followed me for a while," he said. "I'm not jealous anymore."
Ripa seemingly concurred with his claim as she appreciated him for no longer being jealous, sharing that Consuelos' "personality" used to be a prayer point for her.
"I don't know. You know, I think I went in to do some work on myself and that was one of the major things that I needed to work on because it was getting in the way," Consuelos replied upon being quizzed by her about what changed.
Ripa and Consuelos got married on May 1, 1996, and both share children Michael, 25, Lola, 21, and Joaquin, 19.
Mark Consuelos Replaced Ryan Seacrest On 'Live'
Ripa's husband replaced her long-term co-host, Ryan Seacrest, on the show. After six years as host of the ABC program, Seacrest announced in a February episode that he would be leaving. Ripa later revealed that her husband would be taking over in a permanent capacity.
Seacrest joined Ripa on the show in 2017 after a lengthy search for a replacement. The Live Wire author herself joined the show in 2001, taking over with Regis Philbin following Kathie Lee Gifford's exit, per Us Magazine.
Consuelos previously filled in for Seacrest several times before taking on a permanent position, most notably in a January episode where he joked about cautioning his daughter against walking in on them having sex.
Mark Consuelos Says 'Live' Is His 'Safe Place' To Air His Marital Issues
Consuelos said that he doesn't anticipate any marital problems as a result of joining Ripa as co-host on "Live! With Kelly And Ryan," according to Us Magazine.
During a February guest appearance on the show, he talked about joining the team, saying, "I consider this a safe place. To be honest, sometimes I wait if I have a little something I want to get off my chest, like, 'You know, this thing I want to talk about.' I've done it here when I've been a guest host because I'm safe, what could possibly happen?"
He added, "Usually, nine out of 10 times, it's been resolved here before we go home. One time it went bad." Ripa then retorted, contradicting his claims by saying, "It's never resolved, just so you know. It's all unresolved."