The Real Reason Kelly Ripa Quit Drinking
On the surface, it looks like all Hollywood stars want to do is party, drink, and have fun. However, it turns out a lot of them would much prefer a healthy, alcohol-free lifestyle. Kelly Ripa is one of many sober celebrities. The longtime daytime TV host has previously opened up about the importance of healthy eating and exercise, telling People in 2020 that working out "doesn't just make me look better, but it makes me emotionally feel better."
Ripa also made the health-conscious decision to stop drinking a few years ago — and in 2020, she joked about it on "Live With Kelly and Ryan" (via InStyle). She said, "They're saying that Americans bought less wine last year. It's the first drop in a quarter of a century." Ripa added, "Now, I believe this is because I quit drinking, that I caused this dip. I have influenced the market. I'm not saying I've driven people out. I'm saying I stopped buying wine and there's a ... dip."
Scroll ahead to find out the real reason Ripa quit drinking for good — and no, it has nothing to do with her co-host Ryan Seacrest.
It all started with a 'sober month' challenge
Kelly Ripa revealed what led her to stop drinking in 2017, admitting it was merely just a coincidence that she decided she wanted to be sober at the same time Ryan Seacrest started on "Live With Ryan and Kelly." She told People in February 2020, "Ryan likes to blame himself for me stopping drinking, he's like, 'I got here and you stopped drinking.' It really was not that. I did a sober month — all my girlfriends did it, we all did it together — and I just never went back to it."
"It wasn't even really a thought process," the TV host continued. "It felt great, I felt like I looked great, I felt like I didn't feel hungover. Not that I was a heavy drinker — I wasn't someone who got drunk — but even like two glasses of wine at a girl's night out dinner; I would feel it the next morning." She added that after the challenge, she felt no "need or desire" to drink again.
Her husband of 25 years, Mark Consuelos, also quit with her. "We did both quit drinking almost three years ago," Ripa told Parade in October 2020. "Not that we were sitting around drinking day and night, but I think that there is something about like clean living — maybe that's what did it. Maybe that's the difference."
Drinking isn't the only habit Kelly Ripa quit
Kelly Ripa also told People that she stopped smoking about 25 years ago — a habit she admits was much harder to kick. "Quitting smoking I really had to think about," she said. "I was like: 'Smoking leads to cancer and it will kill you.' It was a thing I had to tell myself. And I was like, 'It gives you wrinkles.' And that was the thing that was really terrifying. But you don't want to die early, needlessly, over cigarettes. ... But drinking was very easy. I didn't really think about it at all."
The "Live With Kelly and Ryan" host noted that the difference between the two is that she's got way more questions from people wondering why she gave up drinking than she did when she stopping smoking. "I quit drinking and everyone's like, 'Why did you quit drinking?' I'm not comparing cigarettes to alcohol, but for me it was just like, I don't do that anymore. I felt better so I just stopped," she recalled.
Kicking her bad habits is definitely part of the reason why Ripa continues to sparkles under the spotlight.