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The LIVE with Kelly and Mark co-hosts share children Michael, Lola and Joaquin
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos have been together for nearly three decades now, having first met when they began co-starring together on All My Children in 1995.
Kelly, 54, played Hayley Vaughan on the legendary soap opera from 1990-2002, and in 1995, she was joined by a young Mark, 53, who played her on-screen love interest Mateo Santos. And sparks instantly flew off-screen as well.
They began dating soon after their very first chemistry read on set, and eloped just a year later to Las Vegas in 1996. They’ve since started a production company, now host their own daytime talk show, and are the proud parents of sons Michael and Joaquin and daughter Lola.
Kelly made a special appearance on Tuesday, January 14 at the 92Y for a panel celebrating 55 years of All My Children, led by Andy Cohen and none other than Susan Lucci. The panel celebrated the show’s milestone premiere on January 5, 1970, all the way until its conclusion on September 23, 2011.
Also joining them were former co-stars Jill Larson, Eden Riegel, Jennifer Bassey and Francesca James, plus head writer Lorraine Broderick and casting director Judy Blye Wilson, who was responsible for finding Mark in the first place.
When Andy asked Judy about some of her favorite finds as a casting director, he brought up Mark as well, being a close friend of his and Kelly’s.
Kelly, reflecting on the serendipitous nature of her husband’s casting, interjected to say: “If I may add, without Judy, I would literally have nothing. I would not have my husband, I would not have my children.”
“You are responsible for every good thing that’s ever happened to us, and I just want to publicly say that,” she continued to emphasize, drawing applause from her former co-workers and the audience. “I’ve said it before, without you, I’d have nothing.”
Judy shared some further insight into the casting process, explaining that while Kelly was on board quite early on, the other members of the casting and production team “couldn’t make a decision about Mark.”
“I was so behind him,” she continued. “I brought Kelly into my office and I showed her a black and white picture of him, and she really liked him,” she jokingly emphasized. “I did everything, and I don’t know why they were dragging their heels on it.”
It went so far that he actually began playing the role of Mateo, while Judy continued to “search for another person” and still had to screen test Mark several times, despite him already playing the character.
Eventually, the producer relinquished, and he continued his 104 episode stint and also his romance with Kelly. Although, as it turns out, the dynamic between the two was way more palpable than they expected, per Susan herself.
Later in the talk, she added: “I was happy to be in the hair and makeup room watching their audition scenes. And we were all like, ‘Oh get a room!'” which left the crowd, and Kelly in particular, in hysterics. “The chemistry between you two was coming right through the screen!”
