Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos Relationship Timeline

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos are one of the few celebrity couples who have stood the test of time. They have been by each other’s sides for the better part of three decades, both personally and professionally. The former soap opera stars turned talk show co-hosts know a thing or two about marriage and are happy to share their wisdom. In an episode of Live with Kelly and RyanRipa and Consuelos shared their best tips for a happy romance, including lots of “lovely and sexy times.”

After having sympathized All my children By 1995 (but more on that below), the couple had three children, celebrating dozens of milestones along the way. Here’s a look back at their relationship and their journey from on-screen love interests to power couple.

March 26, 2015: first meeting of Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos

Ripa first met Consuelos when the latter auditioned for “All My Children,” the soap opera she has starred in since 1990. Consuelos was trying to play the love interest of Ripa’s character, Hayley Vaughan. The casting director had already shown him a photo of himself, and the rest is (pretty much) history. “When I saw him, the picture of him, I saw my whole future with him flashing in front of (my eyes) – like I saw him,” she said in 2018 during a appearance on Lunch with Bruce. “And I don’t believe in any of that and now I do because of this moment.”

Consuelos, however, had a different reaction following her screen test. In 2014, he told HuffPost Live: “I thought she was adorable and hot and sexy and all that, but I was very focused – I didn’t really think I had a chance with her, so I wasn’t really focused on that.”

February 14, 1996: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos make their debut as a couple

The dynamic duo entered into a relationship shortly after Consuelos’ choice. All my children like Mateo Santos. By the time they made their public debut on the red carpet at the Soap Opera Digest Awards — which took place on Valentine’s Day — they had already been dating for a few months. However, the couple decided to keep their relationship a secret: “People tend to think that there will be problems when you date your partner,” Consuelos later revealed.

April 1996: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos briefly separate

About two months after their public debut as a couple, Ripa and Consuelos (very briefly) called it quits. In fact, they got married the following week! “Right before we got married, we broke up,” she shared during her appearance on the Comments by Celebs podcast.

May 1, 1996: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos get married

On the same Celebrity Comments podcast mentioned above, Ripa revealed, “We broke up and got back together the day before we left and ran away. Yeah, we escaped. We went to Vegas and got married. The couple has since explained that they decided to elope because they had two consecutive days off and didn’t want to spend their time planning a complicated wedding. “It was like, ‘Let’s go to Vegas and get married, and it’ll be fun,'” Ripa recalled on an episode of Live in August 2022. “It really is such an effective way to get married. And it was fun. We were like, ‘Now it’s a game! Woohoo!'”

The two eventually ended up getting married at the Chapel of the Bells, which they chose at random. “We got to the hotel and I remember looking at the Yellow Pages, because they had Yellow Pages back then,” he later told PEOPLE. “And I searched for ‘Wedding Chapels’ and Bell Chapel had the biggest, biggest ad. It was one of the first ads, and it was in just the right place on the page.”

June 2, 1997: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos welcome their first child

Nearly 13 months after they eloped to Vegas, Ripa gave birth to her and Consuelos’ first child, a son named Michael Joseph. Years later, Ripa revealed to PEOPLE that her firstborn “has the strongest moral compass I’ve ever known.” She continued: “He is such a good, decent and really kind person.” In 2020, Michale graduated from New York University and Ripa commemorated the momentous event with a sweet Instagram Story.

June 16, 2001: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos welcome their second child

A little over four years after welcoming their son, Michael, into the world, Ripa and Consuelos’ second child and only daughter, Lola Grace, has made her debut. The couple had initially planned to name their new bundle of joy Sophie; however, during the ride to the hospital, Barry Manilow’s 1985 hit “Copacabana” was playing on the radio. On a 2022 of Live, Ripa revealed to former co-host Ryan Seacrest: “I heard that (lyrics), when he said, ‘Her name was Lola,’ and I said to Mark, ‘Lola Consuelos would be a name really cool.’ And he said, ‘If it’s a girl, let’s call her Lola.’ And that was it.

February 24, 2003: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos welcome their third child

Ripa and Consuelos’ youngest child, Joaquín Antonio, was born on February 24, 2003. Ripa called her his old Live with Régis and Kelly co-host, the late Regis Philbin, straight from his hospital bed, to share the news.

Unbeknownst to many, Ripa shared a January 2022 episode of Live that “we ended up naming Joaquin Michael” and that “Michael was supposed to be Joaquin.” She continued: “Michael is named after Mark’s two grandfathers, who died just before he was born, which is how we came up with his name. Joaquin, we knew we called him Joaquin.

2007: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos create a production company

Ripa and Consuelos continued to work together even after All my children. In 2007, before playing in Live, the now-married couple launched a production company, Milojo. Although the name may seem strange, it is actually quite sweet and sentimental: Milojo is a combination of the first two letters of each of their three children’s names!

January 2010: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos return to “All My Children”

Ripa and Consuelos celebrated a full circle moment in their relationship – and took a trip down memory lane – upon their return to All my children in 2010. Both actors reprized their respective roles, Hayley Vaughan and Mateo Santos, as part of a two-episode arc. Bring the tears, people!

April 2016: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary

To celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary in April 2016, Ripa, Consuelos and their three children embarked on a trip to the Turks and Caicos Islands. Back home, Ripa, the Live shared a romantic photo of herself in a long white dress – spoiler alert: it was her real wedding dress! — with Consuelos at his side. At this point, she also shared that she had owned this dress for 25 years before she married Consuelos. She also added, “I didn’t buy it as a wedding dress. I just bought it because it was really pretty and I wanted to buy something from the Barney’s Warehouse sale. She even described the purchase as “the best $199 I’ve ever spent in my life.”

February 16, 2023: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos are (officially!) co-hosts of “Live”

After Ryan Seacrest announced his departure Live with Kelly and Ryan, it was revealed that Consuelos, who had previously hosted the show several times, would definitely take the reins. Seacrest was excited about the transition, sharing that “it’s been a memorable journey and now I’m excited to pass the baton to Kelly’s ‘real’ husband, Mark.” Executive producer Michael Gelman shared similar sentiments. “Seeing him (Consuelos) join the show is very special to us, and we are sure viewers will feel the same way,” he said in a statement.

April 17, 2023: Mark Consuelos debuts alongside Kelly Ripa as permanent co-host of “Live”

On April 17, 2023, the married couple hosted the very first episode of Live with Kelly and Mark. Ripa teased that her husband would “join me today — and permanently until one of us dies.” Afterwards, Consuelos thanked his wife and paid tribute to hers – and that of Ripa – All my children characters, saying: “Thank you America, thank you – Hayley and Mateo forever.”

February 28, 2024: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos visit the chapel where they eloped

A few months before their 28th wedding anniversary, Ripa and Consuelos returned to the chapel where they first said “I do” more than two decades earlier. They even took the time to recreate their original wedding photo!

May 1, 2024: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos celebrate their 28th wedding anniversary

Ripa commemorated her 28th wedding anniversary with Consuelos with a series of romantic snaps documenting their love story together on Instagram. Her caption was equally adorable: “Cutting 28 years into 10 photos isn’t possible, but you get the idea.” Happy birthday to the love of my life @instasuelos ♥️ I’m so grateful to you for all the dreams come true ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨” Consuelos posted her own Instagram post, writing “I love you thank you forever I decided to take this crazy and beautiful ride with me. Happy 28th birthday. I love you @kellyripa »