Kelly Ripa’s husband, Mark Consuelos, became her co-host on Live earlier this year, making for a welcome addition to the daily show.
However, many viewers were likely left wondering about his sudden absence from this past Thursday’s episode.
It came soon after Ripa made headlines when she skipped Robin Roberts’ wedding due to being on the opposite coast for an event with her husband.
On Thursday’s Live, Kelly shared that her husband had become extremely sick and that she told him to stay home even though he still wanted to co-host the show.
“He came down — you know, he tested negative for everything, but he’s really sick, and I felt so bad for him, and this morning he came into the bedroom,” Kelly told the audience.
She said her husband told her, “Babe, I think I can power through,” but she told him absolutely not and to go back to bed.
Ripa says husband was sick and unable to co-host
“I pulled that sheet up over my face, and I said, ‘I really feel like you need to go back to bed. You look and sound terrible. And also, please get out of this room,'” Kelly told the Live audience about her conversation with Mark.
“He’s got a fever, and that, to me, always signals something else. But he’s like, ‘I tested negative for everything, so I’m fine!'”
With Mark absent from Thursday’s show, DJ Deja Vu filled in as co-host on Live. Friday’s episode was a pre-recorded installment of Live.
The duo recently made headlines when they weren’t among the guests at Robin Roberts’ Connecticut wedding last weekend. However, they’d jetted off the West Coast, where Mark served as the Grand Marshall for a Mexican Independence Day Parade and Festival.
It all led to rumors that Kelly skipped out on Roberts’ wedding due to not wanting to be around her former co-host, Michael Strahan. However, sources said that was far from the truth, and the former co-hosts are still amicable.
Consuelos became Live co-host with Kelly earlier this year
Consuelos, 52, is best known for his former roles as Mateo Santos from ABC’s soap All My Children and as Hiram Lodge on The CW’s Riverdale.
He married Kelly in 1996 after they met on the set of the AMC soap the year before. The couple shares three children and only recently began sharing the Live hosting duties.
Earlier this year, Consuelos became the permanent co-host alongside his wife following the departure of Ryan Seacrest, who had been there with Kelly since May 2017.
Seacrest is known for plenty of hosting and production gigs, including American Idol, which he’d indicated he would focus on after leaving Live.
He was also recently announced as the new host of Wheel of Fortune, replacing longtime host Pat Sajak after he announced his retirement. All of that, in addition to other projects, keeps him busy.
However, the popular TV personality has said he planned to return to fill in for Consuelos as necessary, so Seacrest isn’t done with appearing on Live for good.
Meanwhile, viewers have seemed to embrace the husband-wife duo as Live’s regular co-hosts, as they bring a unique perspective to the show and its topics.