Kelly Ripa Reveals One Regret From Vegas Wedding With Mark Consuelos

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Every rose has its thorn, including Kelly Ripa‘s wedding to Mark Consuelos.

The former Hope & Faith star shared what she now regrets about her and Mark Consuelos’s low-budget wedding in Las Vegas back in 1996. They have three children together: Michael, 28; Lola, 24; and Joaquin, 23.

Kelly Ripa recently admitted she wished they’d gotten flowers, playfully explaining on Live With Kelly and Mark that she feels awkward holding nothing. She jokingly blamed her husband, saying he wasn’t willing to spend the extra money.

Ripa admitted she always skips over one particular picture – it’s an embarrassing shot of her posing with her hands, simply because she wasn’t holding any flowers. She described it as a really awkward moment captured on camera.

Even though there was one unusual photo, the 55-year-old complimented the Chapel of the Bells for providing photos as part of its wedding packages.

Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa, who met on the set of All My Children in 1996 when Mark auditioned for a role as Kelly’s love interest, also value the simplicity of their elopement. They recently shared with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, who are planning their wedding, that their own wedding only cost $179.

You know, I always say a meaningful commitment doesn’t have to break the bank! Mark Consuelos and I were just chatting about this, and he pointed out that a beautiful wedding can absolutely be done for under two hundred dollars – and honestly, it probably still can be! But the best part? Those are often the marriages that really last. It’s not about the price tag, it’s about the love!

Besides potentially saving Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift a lot of money – especially considering reports they might get married at Madison Square Garden in New York – Kelly Ripa mentioned how simple her own secret wedding with Mark Consuelos was, even though their parents didn’t approve of it then.

Ripa joked that getting married at the courthouse is a simple, fast process. She described being able to go at any time, even in the middle of the night, and keep it completely private.

After three decades of marriage to the Riverdale actor, Kelly Ripa has gathered a lot of advice about making a marriage—and a sex life—work.

Kelly Ripa jokingly explained on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast in 2025 that a healthy sex life requires balance. She said it often feels like she only gets what she wants 10% of the time, and now that she and her husband work together daily, she wants things to be more reciprocal—specifically, intimacy at night.

Kelly Ripa playfully complained that she needed to remove her retainer, and jokingly pointed out Mark Consuelos was wearing nasal strips. She said they looked ‘repulsive’ and ‘disgusting,’ and admitted she was already bracing herself for how she’d feel about it all the next morning.

Keep reading for more of the couple’s spicy relationship confessions.

Kelly Ripa jokingly complained about her husband, Mark Consuelos, during a 2017 episode of Live! With Kelly. She said that after they spend intimate time together, he often becomes short-tempered and irritated with her. While she claimed it was just a joke, the comment became a trending news story, prompting Mark to defend himself. He jokingly stated that someone can’t be mean if they’re unconscious – implying he falls asleep immediately afterward. Kelly then clarified she didn’t mean “mean” literally, but rather that he seems completely disinterested and out of it, like he’s still asleep.

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos’ children – Michael, Lola, and Joaquin – are careful about what they look at online, and for good reason. Remember when Mark announced he’d be running the Instagram account for his show Riverdale in 2019? Kelly playfully responded, “Daddy, I love when you take over.” This is just one example of why Kelly believes her kids have made a conscious effort to remove any trace of them from social media. In April 2023, she told TopMob News that she’s pretty sure they’ve blocked any account mentioning their family name, and generally block them however possible.

During a Halloween post in 2020 featuring photos of her husband, Mark, and his friend Bruce Bozzi dressed as CHiPs officers, Kelly playfully responded to comments about how Mark’s pants fit. He jokingly claimed a shadow was causing the outline, and she teased him back asking if he was actually seeing shadows.

Later, on the show Daily Pop, host Justin Sylvester alluded to the reason for their long marriage, prompting Kelly to admit that while it wasn’t the only reason, it definitely ranked in her top three.

Kelly jokingly admitted to meticulously checking photos before posting them online after a wave of Halloween pictures led her to thoroughly scan every family photo first. When Justin Sylvester noticed she’d been very selective with images from a tropical vacation in November 2020, Kelly responded playfully that it was an incredibly careful – and sometimes restrictive – process, though she wasn’t actually upset about it.

Kelly revealed the key to her nearly 30-year, three-child marriage on an episode of Live! in 2021: “Love and intimacy.”

Mark and Kelly revealed how they privately cope with stress while discussing the TV show Scenes From a Marriage when Mark filled in as a guest co-host.

Kelly Ripa joked that the drama unfolding on TV would never happen in her marriage to Mark Consuelos. She explained that Mark always quickly addresses any issues – whether it’s emotional upset, feeling unwell, or being overworked – by showering her with affection and attention. Kelly was about to say everything Mark fixes is done through ‘love,’ but he playfully corrected her, saying ‘Not everything!’ She clarified with a laugh that it’s ‘just about almost everything.’

Kelly Clarkson isn’t a fan of early morning intimacy with her husband, Mark. While he enjoys sex in the mornings, she confessed on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast that she finds it unpleasant. She told him their intimate life needs to be balanced and that she prefers it happen at night. Luckily, their busy work schedule hosting Live has naturally shifted their intimacy to evenings during the week, which Kelly considers a positive outcome.

Mark made a suggestive comment after Kelly shared a photo of herself wearing a sparkly rainbow sweatshirt. He playfully questioned the letter on her shirt – which read “More Glitter, Less Twitter” – writing, “Is that a G or a C…just asking for a friend.”

Kelly Clarkson jokingly reminisced about her son Joaquin’s 18th birthday, recalling how much fun it was when he was conceived! After husband Mark posted a sweet message on Instagram celebrating their son turning 18, Kelly playfully commented about the experience. Mark then added that the occasion happened during a trip to Montreal.

During a September 2022 episode of Watch What Happens Live, Andy Cohen playfully questioned his friend about where he and Mark had been intimate, playing a game called “Have You Schtupped There?” The answer was a definite yes to several locations. They’d been intimate in a public bathroom, while working on All My Children, and even on a boat—apparently, right in front of Cohen’s house, as he joked.

While Cohen teased that their public displays of affection suggested they’d been everywhere, Kelly revealed a few places were still on the list. They hadn’t (yet) been intimate in a car, a department store dressing room, or on the set of their talk show.

Let me tell you, when it comes to feeling good, it’s all about finding what works for you – and a little creativity can go a long way! During the pandemic, my husband and I were doing long distance – I was in New York for work, and he was filming in Vancouver. We definitely kept things interesting with some… let’s just say unique ways to connect. Honestly, I was so self-conscious about how I looked on video calls, I actually rigged up my laptop on a ladder! It sounds crazy, but it meant I could look up at him and avoid the unflattering angle gravity was giving me. It was a silly solution, but hey, we all do what we can to feel our best, right?

Kelly Ripa playfully addressed the controversy surrounding the relationship between former GMA3 co-hosts Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes. On Watch What Happens Live in April 2023, she joked about her own professional relationship with her husband, Mark Consuelos, now that he’s working with her on Live. She said they’ve “taken a vow of chastity” while working together, referencing ABC’s apparent disapproval of romantic relationships between on-screen colleagues. Kelly quipped that they were committed to avoiding any “banging on the side,” a playful nod to the situation with Robach and Holmes.

After their youngest son, Joaquin, went away to college in 2021, Kelly and her husband Mark enjoyed the freedom of having an empty house. As Kelly explained to TopMob News in June 2023, they fell into a relaxed routine where they could come and go as they pleased. But things changed when their daughter Lola returned from London, and then again when Joaquin came home for summer break – suddenly they had to start locking up the house again! When Kelly’s parents also stayed with them in New York, the lack of privacy meant they had to find some inventive ways to have a little space to themselves. “You wouldn’t believe what we did,” she joked.

When Lola moved home to finish college, she started walking in on her parents without knocking, which they wanted to stop. In typical fashion, Mark playfully warned her about what she might find if she continued the habit.

During a January 2023 episode of Live, Mark joked, “Be warned, Lola Consuelos. ‘Cause this week’s freaky week, isn’t it?” Kelly laughed and asked why this week was special, and Mark simply replied with a smile, “It is now.”

The playful warning came after Mark had a conversation with Lola about her unexpected entrances. He told her, “I said, ‘Lola, I don’t want you to take this the wrong way. I’m very excited you’re home, we missed you, you’re the heart of this family, you’re so funny and fantastic, but you have to knock!”

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2026-06-13 00:51