Kelly Ripa Likes To “Observe The Strife At The Other Tables” While Dining Out Alone:

Solo dining may be “booming,” but Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos have long been onboard with the trend.

Ripa read about its surge in popularity on Live with Kelly and Mark today, prompting her and Consuelos to agree that they both enjoy going out to eat alone.

“I don’t find shame in it. I don’t find it uncomfortable,” she acknowlegded.

She continued reading that the spike in solo dining is in part due to the pandemic and “people distancing from one another,” as well as people “having social media now” and being just “fine” sitting on their phones at the table. However, Ripa has her own dining-out distraction.

“I prefer to sit in a restaurant alone and observe the strife at the other tables,” she quipped.

Consuelos asked, “Can you hear what they’re saying?”

Ripa replied, “Sometimes, if I lean over enough. But you have to be very careful because you can fall into their laps. In New York City, it’s very tight quarters.”

As for Consuelos, he recalled a restaurant in Atlanta, Lyla Lila, that he frequented alone, where he “sat kind of off the bar area.”

“Sometimes, if I’m traveling, I eat at the bar because you can at least somewhat have a conversation with the bartender, and they’re good at it,” he explained. “I would go by myself, and I went back three nights in a row because the food was so good. I would just try different things.”

Ripa shared that Consuelos also took her there, as Consuelos teased, “They thought I was stalking them.” Nonetheless, Ripa shared their “funny” experience at the restaurant, citing “a couple of reasons.”

“First reason was that Mark and I were basically, like, two people having dinner together, but completely separately. Like we were all in on what else was going on in the restaurant,” she continued. “We were in our observation phase of the restaurant.”

The second reason she mentioned was the “very exciting” moment when Harrison Ford walked by.

“When Harrison Ford walks by in a restaurant, here’s what happens. The whole restaurant goes silent and observes Harrison Ford walking by, with everybody then turning to each other and saying, ‘Did you see? Did you see Harrison Ford?’” she said.

“Han Solo, Han Solo, Han Solo,” Consuelos whispered, mimicking the restaurant’s excitement. “Indiana Jones, Indiana Jones.”