"I knew when I saw his photograph," says Kelly Ripa recalling how she fell for Mark Consuelos even before she met him
Hollywood couple Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos are relationship goals. Don't believe us? Just scroll through to read about their meet cute, their hopelessly romantic love story and the moment the popular face of TV fell in love with the 'Riverdale' baddie.
The 47-year-old talk-show host and the Italian-Mexican actor have been together for 22 years now, after tying the knot back in 1996. Not only are the two a well-known couple on television, but together they have raised three children - the eldest of whom, Michael, is about to make his 'Riverdale' debut as Consuelos' on-screen son, a young Hiram Lodge.
Despite the years, what remains constant is their love and admiration for each other, as reflected during a recent interview, where Ripa opened up about the moment she fell in love with her 'All My Children' co-star. On a side note, sparks had started flying (at least from Ripa's side) even before she met Consuelos for the audition of the 70s show.
“I saw my husband in a photograph before I saw him,” the Live With Kelly and Ryan star dished on a recent episode of the Radio Andy podcast. "I knew when I saw his photograph.”
As it turns out, Ripa and Consuelos met during the audition of 'All My Children', in which the actress played Hayley Vaughan while her to-be-husband was trying for the role of Mateo Santos.
“They had been looking for this character for some time. They were looking really for a Latino actor, not an actor that was like — they didn’t want like a dark-haired guy. They wanted a Latino actor. And so I had auditioned every Latino actor in the city and around the city and then California. And then all of a sudden, Judy Blye Wilson, who was the casting director at All My Children, said, ‘I found him,’” recalled Ripa.
Explaining how she fell in love with Consuelos just after a glimpse of his photograph, Ripa continued, "At that point I was not a hopeless romantic. I never thought about getting married, it never occurred to me that I would grow old with someone. I just thought I would be living my single girl life in the city and sort of like moving..."
But when she saw his picture, though, Ripa reveals, " I saw my entire future with him flash before, like I saw it. And I don’t believe in any of that and now I do because of that moment.” After more than 20 years of togetherness, the couple is just a portrait of a successful love at first sight story. From sharing their love on social media to taking silly jabs at their children, Ripa and Consuelos continue to be the ideal couple.