Famous Families
Kelly Ripa Reveals the Hilarious Way She and Husband Mark Consuelos Will Combat Empty Nest Syndrome
As Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos prepare themselves to send their youngest son, Joaquin, off to college one day, the beloved TV host revealed how they’re planning on combatting empty nest syndrome.
“We’re going to be totally naked,” Kelly, 49, hilariously shared with People on Wednesday, February 19. “At all times. We are going to change the locks. People are like, ‘Oh, you’re gonna miss the kids.’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know, I wanna experiment with it. See how that goes.'”
It seems it’ll only be a matter of time before Kelly and Mark have the whole house to themselves. While Joaquin, 16, only has a little over a year left before he goes to college, the Live! With Kelly & Ryan star and the Riverdale actor’s eldest kids have already flown the coop. Michael Consuelos, 22, currently lives in Brooklyn to pursue a Hollywood career, while 18-year-old Lola is a freshman at New York University.
After sharing some details about her future plans once all their kiddos are out of the house, Kelly also chatted about the couple’s 24-year marriage. Considering it’s hard to find true love in Hollywood, let alone make it last over two decades, the doting mom dished how they’ve continued to thrive after all these years.
“We encourage each other,” she gushed. “I hate when people say this — because it sounds so dumb — but we are best friends and we love each other and we like each other and we’ve got these beautiful, amazing kids and we feel very fortunate to have found, in this great big world with all these people, we’re just two kids. He’s from Italy, I’m from south Jersey, what are the chances we would find each other?”
Although the longtime couple — who tied the knot in 1998 — can’t seem to wait for the day when they have the house to themselves, Kelly didn’t sound as excited when Lola left for college in August 2019. As she and Mark kissed the brunette beauty goodbye, the All My Children actress revealed how much she’d miss her only little girl.
“#tbt 2001 from your christening to college. In the blink of an eye,” Kelly wrote alongside a throwback photo around the time Lola moved out. “I’m not crying. You’re crying. Actually Daddy’s sobbing.”
During a September episode of Live!, Kelly also shared the realization she had once they dropped Lola off at New York University. “We moved Lola into her dorm and it’s one of those things that you don’t realize how close [the kids are],'” she admitted.
Empty nesters or not, Kelly and Mark always have a good time!
