Kelly Ripa And Mark Consuelos: Who Are Their Kids?
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos' love story began on the set of the soap opera "All My Children" in the '90s. But the couple has long since traded that world of shocking betrayals, vengeful surprise offspring, and murder for a slightly less chaotic gig hosting "Live with Kelly and Mark." Before Consuelos replaced Ryan Seacrest as his wife's co-host in April 2023, Ripa had made viewers feel as though they knew her family by constantly talking about her husband and kids. Whenever Consuelos guest-hosted, he, too, would share entertaining stories about their children.
Over the years, their kids have become chips off the ol' blocks. In 2023, their eldest child, Michael Consuelos, told People that he remembers being with his parents on the set of "All My Children" and watching them film a fire rescue scene. "I didn't really have any concept of what TV was," he said. "So I went to school bragging about how my dad saved my mom from a burning building."
Michael and his siblings, Lola Consuelos and Joaquin Consuelos, made a rare appearance together on "Live" in 2022. The trio teamed up to play "Who Knows Mom Best," and their funny argument over their mom's real hair color (Lola insisted that she's a natural blond) was so popular with fans that it was voted the No. 1 "Live" moment for the "Viewers' Choice Show" in 2023. But this is far from the only reason Ripa and Mark have to be proud of their kids.
The inspiration for their kids' names
During a 2018 "Live with Kelly and Ryan" episode, Kelly Ripa explained how she and Mark Consuelos came up with the names of their kids. Michael Consuelos was originally going to be called Joaquin. However, Mark's grandfathers both died while Ripa was pregnant, so the parents decided to honor the two men by naming Michael after them. As Michael grew up, it sounds like he did his namesakes proud. "He's the kindest person I've ever met," Ripa told People in 2023.
As for Lola Consuelos, Ripa recalled, "I was in labor, and 'Copacabana' by Barry Manilow was playing in the cab." The first line of the song mentions a showgirl named Lola. "And I said to Mark, 'Lola Consuelos is a great name,'" Ripa continued while pretending like she was experiencing labor pains. Many years later, Ripa informed the "Live" audience that her little girl was learning how to drive. "Maybe it was the horseback riding lessons, but Lola picks up everything easier than everybody else in the house," Ripa said. This included skiing, ice skating, and bike riding.
When the couple learned that their third child was a boy, they decided that they still wanted to use the name Joaquin. During a 2018 "Live" episode, Ripa joked that her youngest starts looking like Judge Judy when his hair gets long. She also said of Joaquin, "He's full of indictments ... He could either be an attorney or a judge. He's very right-and-wrong-minded."
Kelly Ripa begged to post Lola Cosuelos' prom pics
Much to Lola Consuelos' consternation, Kelly Ripa is just your average mom who's always itching to show photos of her kids to everyone she knows. But the TV star also has an audience of millions of strangers that she loves to share those same images with.
In 2018, Ripa told her "Live with Kelly and Ryan" viewers that she had to become an expert negotiator after her daughter got invited to prom. Consuelos managed to get her curfew extended, but in turn, Ripa went against her wishes by attending pre-prom. Then, she told her mom that she wasn't allowed to post her prom pics on Instagram, even though the teen was letting other family members share them. Ripa was also barred from showing them to her "Live" audience. However, Consuelos apparently started feeling some pity for her poor, proud mother, because she told Ripa that she could post them on Instagram if Consuelos could choose the captions. "You ready for what she came up with? Hang on — it's 'Prom night 2018,'" an incredulous Ripa said. She later circumvented her daughter's demands by showing a screengrab of the Instagram post to her viewers.
Consuelos got her revenge the following year when she made her mom beg for a prom pic to share on Instagram again. She also altered her prom dress without seeking her mom's approval. "That's why, you know, the girls are fully on display," Ripa told the "Live" audience (via USA Today).
Two of Kelly Ripa's kids defied her college wishes
Two of Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa's children made college decisions that Ripa wasn't totally on board with. In a 2019 appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," Ripa revealed that her oldest son, Michael Consuelos, decided to go to school at New York University, which isn't far from their home. "I was very concerned. I didn't think the kids should live in the city where they grew up," Ripa said. Being far away from home would force them to become more independent — but Ripa wasn't just interested in getting her kids to expand their horizons. "I was so desperate to get any of my kids to go to school on the West Coast," she confessed during an "On Air with Ryan Seacrest" interview. "I just want to visit the West Coast."
In 2018, Ripa told "Live with Kelly and Ryan" viewers that she had toured Tulane University in New Orleans with Lola Consuelos, and she was also a big fan of that option. "As the mom, I am stuck, because any approval that I show will take this school out of contention," Ripa said. Apparently, she didn't do a good enough job hiding her enthusiasm, because Lola ultimately decided to go to NYU, too.
Joaquin Consuelos finally dared to be different by enrolling in the University of Michigan, which didn't exactly allow Ripa to achieve her dream of spending the Thanksgiving holiday somewhere warm and sunny.
Michael Consuelos has acted alongside his dad
In 2018, Michael Consuelos portrayed a young version of his dad's character, Hiram Lodge, on The CW series "Riverdale." On "Live with Kelly and Ryan," he revealed that the role wasn't handed to him because he was Mark Consuelos' son — he had to audition for it, which is something he'd never done before. "It looked like there were a bunch of Michaels in the audition room," he said of the surreal experience.
Ripa later told Access that she and Mark were impressed with how well Michael did, so they encouraged him to keep acting. The next opportunity that came his way was the 2022 Lifetime movie "Let's Get Physical," which his parents happened to be producers of. "He's like, 'I don't want to work for you guys. It's like, nepotism,'" Ripa recalled. She reassured her son that this was a silly thing to be concerned about, and listening to his mom turned out to be a smart move — Michael told People that he actually enjoyed working with his parents. "They weren't micromanaging everything, they trusted my ability to deliver what they wanted for the character," he said. "I'm very proud of it."
In the movie, Michael's co-star, Jenna Dewan, plays a character who teaches a pole-dancing class. At one point, the screenplay actually called for Michael's character to take her class. "I thank my lucky stars the script got changed because I really did not want to pole dance," Michael confessed to Starry Constellation Magazine.
The royal terms Kelly Ripa uses for her sons
In a 2021 episode of "Live with Kelly and Ryan" (via ET), Kelly Ripa revealed that she refers to her sons using terms that are often reserved for royalty. "I call Michael 'the heir' and Joaquin 'the spare,'" Ripa said. "It really drives Joaquin bonkers." The phrase "heir and the spare" has famously been used to describe Prince William, the heir to the British throne, and his brother Prince Harry, who was second in the line of succession until William began having children. Harry even titled his memoir "Spare." Ripa did not share how her second child, Lola Consuelos, feels about being left out of the family succession conversation simply because she's female.
Unlike William and Harry, Michael Consuelos and Joaquin Consuelos don't have to worry about a crown coming between them and affecting how their parents treat them. However, Michael is a bit concerned about being overshadowed by his brother someday. Speaking to People in 2023, he revealed that he and Joaquin have both caught the acting bug. "He's also going to school for acting," Michael said. "I think I've got a good four or so years of a career before they decide they want the younger, more handsome one." Lola also has some thoughts about her younger brother. On a 2017 episode of "Live," she explained why she thinks Joaquin is Ripa's favorite child. "He's a hard worker," Lola said. "And he's so nice."
Lola Consuelos' social media rule
Lola Consuelos was eager to give the world a glimpse inside her fabulous nepo baby life on social media, but Kelly Ripa told People that her daughter was forbidden to have a public Instagram account until she reached adulthood. "Apparently she turned 18 and immediately went public," Ripa said.
When Consuelos was 13, Ripa admitted to once snooping on her daughter's phone while she was in the shower. The teen was using it when she was supposed to be doing homework and was punished with a temporary ban from being on her phone or computer. "I don't think she likes me, but I don't care," Kelly said on "The Wendy Williams Show" (via E! News). "I'm like, 'I'm not your friend, I'm your mom.'" But we're guessing that Ripa had to butter Lola up a bit when she needed help navigating social media herself. In a joint interview with People, she told her daughter, "When I got the app Instagram and you were showing me how to post things and how to hashtag things, I think that's the time I felt the most like you. We were having a real teenage conversation."
While Lola was willing to help her mom learn how to post embarrassing content on Instagram, she eventually got sweet revenge for all the strict social media rules she had to follow growing up. During a 2020 "Live" episode, viewers learned that Lola was refusing to create any TikTok videos with her mom (via People).
Kelly Ripa's emotional dyslexia revelation
In a 2017 episode of "Live with Kelly and Ryan," Kelly Ripa gave her viewers an update on how her youngest son was doing at school. She explained that Joaquin Consuelos has the learning disabilities dysgraphia and dyslexia, which make it challenging for him to read and write. At the time, he was a high school freshman and had recently started attending a new school. Ripa's voice got shaky and she gripped Ryan Seacrest's arm as she recalled what she learned from his teachers. "He's getting straight A's, and I broke down crying during the parent-teacher conference," the proud mom said (via PopSugar). The waterworks started flowing when Ripa revealed that Joaquin was the first of her children to get straight A's.
Fast forward to 2021, and Ripa found herself getting emotional again. This time, she and Mark Consuelos were helping their youngest choose a college. "[Mark] said, 'You know, I never thought he would be able to go to college,'" Ripa told the "Live" audience (via Page Six). The proud mom praised Joaquin for putting in the hard work to achieve his college dreams and suggested that his learning disability had a silver lining. "Kids with dyslexia learn how to read the room, they pick up on social cues," she said.
In September 2021, Ripa told the "Live" audience that she had recently dropped off Joaquin at the University of Michigan (via USA Today). "It was hard. It was really hard," she revealed.
Lola Consuelos' hard lesson about knocking hard
Lola Consuelos' mom has a habit of sharing TMI with her viewers, and we're just guessing that poor Lola was mortified when Kelly Ripa recounted one incident that likely left her daughter wishing that eye bleach was a real thing. Lola has, unfortunately, walked in on her parents having sex more than once, and one of those occurrences happened on her birthday. To make matters worse, Mark Consuelos was guest-hosting "Live with Kelly and Ryan" when Ripa decided to regale millions of people with the harrowing tale of what Lola witnessed.
Mark revealed that it was also Father's Day, and his wife was helping him celebrate (wink, wink). However, Mark said to Ripa, "You weren't in the mood; I could tell. You were going through the motions." While this was happening, Lola opened their bedroom door — and instantly regretted it. "She shuts the door and you hear, 'You just ruined my birthday and my life! And I used to see in color, and now everything is gray!'" Ripa recalled.
The couple had invited a few family members over for brunch, and Lola decided to shame her parents while everyone was eating. "She goes, 'You're disgusting,'" Ripa said. This sparked an awkward conversation about other similar happenings in the Consuelos household. But Lola learned her lesson, at least. To avoid seeing her parents knocking boots again, Ripa said that their daughter employed "a fire department knock" the next time she needed to enter their bedroom.
Michael Consuelos' sexiest men alive honor
In 2019, Kelly Ripa celebrated when her husband appeared in People's Sexiest Man Alive issue. Mark Consuelos didn't make the cover (that honor went to singer John Legend) but did get to share page 101 with a few other guys. "He's slightly menacing; he's slightly terrifying," Ripa said of her hubby's photo during "Live with Kelly and Ryan." She and Ryan Seacrest also had way too much fun roasting poor Mark's quotes. Three years later, Ripa seemed more excited when Mark's lookalike son, Michael Consuelos, appeared in that year's Sexiest Man Alive edition, which featured Chris Evans on the cover.
Michael was included in the "Gen Next" section, and his photo was far larger than his father's was. "Are you kidding me?" Ripa said. "He's taking after his father; there's no shirt," Seacrest quipped. According to Ripa, the magazine appearance came as a surprise to her. "You would think he would tell us so we could pick up a few copies for the grandparents," she joked. But while she was clearly proud of her son, Ripa made a face when she assumed that Michael was watching "Live" and addressed him directly. "I had no idea that you were considered sexy," she said, whispering that last word.
In his accompanying People interview, Michael was asked about his dad's sexy shirtless pics. "That's motivation," he said. His mom was probably also happy to hear that it doesn't bother him anymore when she talks about him on her show.
Lola Consuelos launched a music career
When Lola Consuelos got to meet Billy Ray Cyrus on "Live with Regis and Kelly," she was completely dumbstruck. Consuelos was a huge fan of his work on Miley Cyrus' music-themed series "Hannah Montana," and she's shared Miley and Billy Ray's love of singing for many years. When Consuelos got her wisdom teeth taken out in 2017, Kelly Ripa told the "Live" audience that her daughter sang during her entire surgery.
Consuelos eventually decided to share her talent with someone other than her oral surgeon, and in 2022, she released her first single, "Paranoia Silverlining." Consuelos told People that she'd actually been writing songs since she was 14, but it took her seven years to create something that she wanted to record and share with the world. Her mom and dad, of course, had the privilege of hearing it first. "My parents are the last people to sugarcoat anything when it comes to my singing," she said. "They are going to tell me if it sounds bad! So when I saw they had a good reaction and liked it, I felt reassured."
Consuelos was glad that she waited so long to debut her first song because she felt that her songwriting benefitted from experiencing more of what life threw her way. She also had three years of music study at NYU under her belt. The release of the track landed Consuelos an interview with Billboard, during which she revealed that she was working on an EP.
Joaquin Consuelos is a wrestling champ
In a 2018 episode of "Live with Kelly and Ryan," Kelly Ripa talked about Joaquin Consuelos' fondness for various forms of fighting. When he was 15, it inspired him to get a job as an intern at a gym. "He cleans up, he wipes the mats, and then he gets training," Ripa said. "It's for jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai and wrestling and all of that stuff." Joaquin also joined his high school wrestling team. After one match left him with a bloody nose in 2020, Ripa posted a photo showing the creative way he staunched the bleeding. "You win some, you lose some, and sometimes you get a tampon shoved up your nose," she wrote on Instagram. On "Live," Ripa revealed that Joaquin had actually broken his nose (via ET). Somehow, this didn't stop him from winning his match.
Joaquin's dedication to the sport later landed him a spot on the University of Michigan's wrestling team. While his parents showed up to his tournaments to cheer him on, Ripa and Mark Consuelos confessed that they're both pretty clueless about their son's favorite sport and all of its terminology. "We just say whatever the parents sitting by us are saying," Ripa joked on "Live with Kelly and Ryan" (via People). But she definitely knew to celebrate when Joaquin's team won the Big Ten wrestling tournament in 2022. The proud mom posted a photo of Joaquin posing with his parents and showing off his championship ring.
The kids get financial support as adults
Kelly Ripa used some interesting terminology to describe her son Michael Consuelos' financial situation in 2019. At the time, he was a film major at NYU's Tish School of the Arts. "He hates paying his own rent, and he is chronically poor," Ripa said on "Jimmy Kimmel Live." "I don't think he ever really experienced extreme poverty like now." She revealed that Michael got so desperate for cash that he called to ask if his grandparents had sent the $20 they mail to each Consuelos kid every year for Halloween.
Apparently, Ripa and Mark Consuelos eventually decided that they didn't want their kids trick-or-treating for cash from loved ones while they were in college. "I said to them, these are years that you won't get back and this is a time where we won't mind supporting you financially as long as you work — as long as you maintain a job for your add-ons," Ripa recalled on "Live with Kelly and Ryan." The idea was to cut them off after graduation. However, not long after Michael graduated, he lost a writing gig due to the pandemic. Because of this, he got an extra year of help.
Ripa revealed what happens when her kids abuse their parents' financial aid during a 2020 episode of "Live" (via People). She said that Lola Consuelos was using Postmates way too often because she didn't like the college meal program she was on, so her parents canceled her debit card.
Kelly Ripa's kids were her quarantine crew
Like many families, the Consuelos crew decided to ride out the early days of the pandemic under one roof — and Kelly Ripa's kids ended up participating in her talk show in a variety of different ways while she was filming from home. In a May 2020 episode of "Live with Kelly and Ryan," Ripa revealed that having a film school student living with her turned out to be a blessing for both her and Michael Consuelos. "He's been producing my end of this show," she told Ryan Seacrest (via E! News). "... I said to him, 'Well, look at you. I mean, here you are. You've got a job before graduation."
Joaquin Consuelos helped his mom keep viewers entertained by allowing her to film his home haircut. It ended up being a messy experience. "I cut my hand in three places, did not realize I was bleeding all over the place," Ripa told Seacrest on "Live." However, she was pleased with the results of her experiment. "She did a really good job," Joaquin said.
As for Lola Consuelos, her job was to make sure that her mom looked her best without the aid of a team of stylists. Because Ripa couldn't go out and get new outfits to wear for each show, she ended up raiding Lola's closet. "I'm now in my daughter's clothes. It's gone there," she said on "Live" (via Page Six). Lola also did Ripa's hair on occasion.
How the Consuelos kids feel about their parents' style
The Consuelos fam is a fashionable bunch, but Lola Consuelos rarely approves of what her parents wear — especially her mother. "She doesn't even bother with me. She just feels that what I wear is embarrassing and awful," Kelly Ripa told People in 2019. However, she suggested that this might not be such a terrible thing, saying, "I don't think your teenage daughters should like what you're wearing." It also means that Ripa doesn't have to worry about Lola raiding her closet.
While Lola's father appreciates her fashion advice, Ripa is more reticent to take advantage of their family stylist's free services. "She oddly says that my clothes should be tighter and shorter, which has the reverse effect," Ripa told People in 2022. So, the role of the parent and the teen got reversed when Lola reached adulthood.
The women of the family might not have style symmetry, but the men most certainly do. "I often raid my dad's closet," Michael Consuelos confessed to People. According to his mom, he and Mark Consuelos have such similar tastes in clothing that it's helped Mark clear out a lot of space in his closet. "Michael has systematically moved Mark's wardrobe out of our apartment and into his dorm," Ripa quipped. As for Joaquin Consuelos, in response to one of Mark's Instagram posts, Ripa revealed that he borrowed one of his dad's tuxedos and a pair of his shoes for prom.
Michael Consuelos wants to follow in his parents' footsteps
Michael Consuelos was just a toddler when he started joining his mom on the set of her talk show. But in a 2020 interview with Glamour, Kelly Ripa revealed that there was a long period of time when Michael wouldn't even let her mention him on the show. "I could not talk about his life, his grades, even though they were great," she said. "I couldn't talk about school. I wasn't allowed to show his prom picture on TV."
In a 2018 episode of "Live with Kelly and Ryan," Michael explained that kids at school kept talking about what Ripa was saying about him on the show, which is why he made his proud mama stop bragging about him to her viewers. He eventually grew out of that phase, and over the years, it's become clear that he's just as comfortable in front of the "Live" cameras as his parents are. In fact, Ripa told People that he's actually expressed an interest in hosting the show. "When we told the kids Mark was [co-hosting], Michael was like 'I would have been perfect for that!'" she said.
According to Ripa, Lola Consuelos occasionally talks about sitting in one of the co-host chairs someday as well, so who knows? When Ripa and Mark Consuelos decide to retire, perhaps their two oldest kids will get to argue over whose name should come first in the show's new title.