Kelly Ripa is one of the most successful women in morning TV, but that’s not what launched her career.
She began her TV career in soap operas on one of the most popular ABC soaps, All My Children.
Everyone knew her as Hayley Vaughan, a role she held for over a decade. Her time in Pine Valley is special, marking when she met her husband, Mark Consuelos.
Mark was hired as Kelly’s love interest, assembling one of the fan-favorite super couples, Hayley and Mateo.
They eloped in 1996, which led to them welcoming their eldest son, Michael, in 1997.
After the birth of her first child, Kelly revealed that she experienced body-shaming in the wardrobe department of All My Children.
Kelly Ripa opens up about body-shaming experience on set of All My Children
During the most recent episode of Let’s Talk Off Camera, where she hosted Hilarie Burton, Kelly Ripa opened up about returning to work on All My Children after welcoming Michael with Mark Consuelos.
Kelly revealed that she had to return to work nine days after welcoming Michael in 1996, halfway through her time on All My Children.
When she went into wardrobe, she was criticized for her appearance. Kelly said, “The wardrobe people were like, ‘We thought you’d be smaller by now.’”
The soap star knew it would be a while before she would be smaller, revealing she had gained 68 pounds during her pregnancy.
She said, ” I don’t know much, but here’s what I do know. This looks like it’s going to be here for a while. I’m not in any rush.”
Kelly Ripa’s success after All My Children
While Kelly Ripa will always be Hayley Vaughan to some, she is much bigger than the petite blonde from Pine Valley.
Following her exit from All My Children in 2002, Kelly shot into stardom in her gig hosting Live with Regis Philbin. She became his cohost in 2001; since then, the show has changed cohosts a few times.
Live with Kelly and Michael, Live with Kelly and Ryan, and Live with Kelly and Mark have all been successful, and hosting with her husband has been a highlight for Kelly.
Moving on from All My Children was the right direction for Kelly, though there has been talk about a Pine Valley reboot. She and Mark are still close to some AMC colleagues, including Eva LaRue, who played Maria Santos on the ABC soap.