Kelly Ripa often shares stories about her personal life on Live with Kelly and Mark. Since her husband, Mark Consuelos, joined the show in 2023, their stories have become a daily treat for viewers.
On Monday’s episode, Kelly and Mark talked about their weekend. While Kelly was visiting family at the University of Minnesota, where her niece is a student, Mark stayed home in New York to take care of their dogs, Lena and Chewie.
They ended up laughing about how they’ve mixed up Chewie’s age over the years. Mark asked Kelly how old Chewie was, guessing 17 or 18. Kelly confidently said she was 18, though Mark wasn’t so sure. Kelly then joked, “We’ve been lying to the kids about her age for so long that we forget her actual age!”
Mark also shared a funny moment when he took Chewie for an early morning walk and lost his keys. He thought about calling Kelly for help but didn’t want to give her number to a stranger on the street.
In the end, Mark remembered he had a spare set of keys, so he spent the rest of the day at home watching sports with the dogs.
Kelly and Mark are now empty nesters, but their 23-year-old daughter, Lola, still visits often. She graduated from NYU in 2023 and now splits her time between New York City and London. Lola is also busy promoting her new music, some of which she recorded in London.
Kelly and Mark also have a 27-year-old son, Michael, who lives in Brooklyn and wants to be an actor. Their 21-year-old son, Joaquin, is a student at the University of Michigan.
The family is very close, and Kelly and Mark’s children are down-to-earth, even though they grew up with a lot of privileges. In an interview with the Daily Mail, Kelly talked about how she and Mark raised their kids, saying, “We want to raise people who are productive, thoughtful, and selfless.”
Kelly added, “I wanted to raise good, caring, generous, and thoughtful people who are professional, polite, and don’t expect everything to be given to them.”
Now that the kids are older and living away from home, they don’t see each other as much, but the holidays are still very special for the family.
Mark once shared a bit about their family during a chat with People, talking about the holiday season. After Christmas, he said it was nice to spend time not just with his kids, but also with their partners.
He said, “It was lovely… really nice people to spend time with. They did a great job. We love them all. I was really proud that our kids wanted to hang out with us.”
He went on to say, “That’s the goal after you raise them. We’re still helping them, but they’re adults now, so we’re mostly done. They’re on their own. I was just really happy and honored that my kids wanted to spend time with me and my wife.”
He also added, “And they’re not embarrassed to bring their boyfriend or girlfriend around.”