A Casting Director and a Headshot Led to Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos’ Enduring Hollywood Love Story
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos have a love affair that just about anyone would envy. The pair have been married for decades and appear as enamored with each other today as they were the day they went public with their romance. Apparently, Kelly Ripa has been in love with her longtime husband even longer than that. A casting director for All My Children recently shared that she’d like to take a bit of credit for Ripa and Consuelos’ romance, claiming Ripa fell in love with Consuelos’ headshot when it was sitting on her desk.
It was love at first sight for Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos
Morning TV viewers get to see Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos’ dynamic every day on Live with Kelly and Mark. They’ve been cohosting the show since 2023, though Consuelos served as a guest host for years before that. It isn’t their first project together, though. They met and fell in love on the set of All My Children. Casting director Judy Blye Wilson just revealed that for Ripa, it happened before Consuelos even walked in the room.
Wilson recently sat down for a chat with TV Insider about her time on All My Children and happily discussed the enduring love affair between Ripa and Consuelos. Wilson said she watched Ripa fall in love with a headshot. Wilson explained that she was tasked with casting a gorgeous young Latino man for the role of Mateo back in the 1990s. She had gone through headshot after headshot before landing on Consuelos to bring in for a screentest.
Wilson recalled Ripa coming into her office, seeing the headshot, and going completely starry-eyed over the unknown actor. Wilson told the publication, “It happened right there. She flipped out over his picture. And it was just an 8-by-10 headshot.” It was clearly meant to be. Consuelos eventually landed the role after some indecision and fell in love with Ripa right back on the set. They’ve been together ever since.
How long have the duo been together?
Wilson’s casting of Mark Consuelos happened in 1995. It took no time at all for the pair to fall in love and decide they were ready for forever. In May 1996, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos eloped, marrying in a secret ceremony in Las Vegas. Ripa has previously described the decision as spontaneous and perfect.
In 1997, the duo became parents to their first son, Michael. Lola joined the family in 2001, and in 2003, their son Joaquin was born. Ripa and Consuelos speak about their children often. They are now officially empty nesters, though it’s unclear if they “changed the locks” as they once suggested they would. It seems like even with big changes, they remain in love and happy, even after 29 years of marriage.
