Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos share how long they’ll stay with ‘LIVE’
Co-hosts and celebrity couple Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos shared with USA TODAY about why they love ‘LIVE’ at the Oscars red carpet.
Video Team – USA TODAY Entertainment
Kelly Ripa missed Monday’s “Live with Kelly and Mark” as she recovers from oral surgery.
Kevin Jonas filled in for the veteran morning show host on July 27, alongside Mark Consuelos, Ripa’s husband and full-time cohost since 2023.
“Thanks for flying the plane with me today,” Consuelos told Jonas at the start of the syndicated program. “Kelly sends her love.”
Consuelos, 55, informed viewers that Ripa, also 55, recently had gum graft surgery, which “replaces the lost tissue around your teeth,” according to the Cleveland Clinic.
“Her dentist said five years ago, ‘You can do it in about five years,” Consuelos shared. “And she joked, she was like, ‘I didn’t think I’d still be on the air in five years.'”
Post-surgery, Ripa is “doing well, she’s doing great,” Consuelos said. But, per her doctor’s orders, “She’s not allowed to talk.”
“That’s got to be the hardest thing that she’s ever done,” Jonas quipped, which made Consuelos laugh.
“Well she’s such a great conversationalist,” the “All My Children” alum replied, “but I’m trying to keep her [compliant]. ‘Follow the rules, follow the directions.'”
He said the pair, who wed in 1996, are relying on the phone to communicate.
In addition to talking, Ripa must also eat soft food as well as avoid straws and examining the surgical site.
Consuelos said that though his wife “famously doesn’t feel pain,” the recovery has been “painful.”
“When she goes into the dentist, she doesn’t really use the Novocain, but this one hurts,” he said. “So I know it’s bad.”
Jonas will return to host Tuesday, July 28, according to a news release. Mila Kunis, Pamela Adlon and Scott Foley will join Consuelos for the remainder of the week.