Live with Kelly and Mark, the famous and entertaining talk show, almost never had Mark as co-host.
Kelly has had her share of co-hosts over the years. She learned how to host from the best, Regis Philbin, and took over when he retired in 2011.
Since then, Michael Strahan and Ryan Seacrest have filled the second seat, along with several guest co-hosts. Mark Consuelos, married to Kelly Ripa, filled in occasionally in the past.
He was always a hit, especially with his easy playfulness with Kelly. But could they work together full-time?
Mark and Kelly, a longtime married couple, worked together years before on the soap opera All My Children.
When Ryan Seacrest announced his departure from Live with Kelly and Ryan, the second seat became open again, and Mark became the top pick.
Kelly Ripa recently revealed who came up with the idea for her and Mark to co-host together on the Life is Short with Justin Long podcast. He wanted to know the backstory and how they settled on Mark co-hosting.
Mark told Kelly he was worried that hosting full-time would hurt their marriage
Kelly told Justin Long, “You don’t understand, the network came to us, and they’re like, ‘We have a great idea. We think you and Mark should co-host together.'”
Kelly went on, “‘I’m gonna stop you right there because that is the worst idea I’ve ever heard in my life.'”
Justin wanted to know Kelly’s reasons for refusing at first. “We’re a husband and wife, and who the hell wants to see that dynamic on TV every day? Also, we’re not super exciting people,” Kelly explained.
Speaking of Mark, Kelly told Justin, “He was like, ‘We have a great marriage, and number one, I don’t want to ruin the show. Number two, I don’t want to ruin our marriage. I don’t want our marriage to implode if I ruin the show.'”
Mark shares how he feels now
Mark is now a popular part of the show. But, as previously reported by Monsters and Critics, there was a bumpy start back. Viewers were critical of their chemistry on set and complained on social media.
Now, it’s a different story. Viewers cannot get enough of the couple, now featured in the opening monologue, starting their day together.
And Mark himself has settled in, telling Entertainment Tonight, “I love the show because I know it’s always going to be fun.”
He continued, saying that Kelly has a fun time, too. Let’s hope it lasts a long time.
Live with Kelly and Mark airs weekdays on ABC.
I enjoy this Husband and Wife team. It is so good to see a couple who loves each other and love their children. Their perspective of family loving each other as they care about their future is wonderful to see.
I feel that too much talk about Kelly & Marks home life at the beginning of the show needs to be altered. Also, when Mark wears a short sleeve shirt, his tattoos show. I feel this is inappropriate & distracting & need to be covered. This is my feeling. .
I also thought too this may be a bad idea, kudos to Mark as handling it very well!!