After 29 years of marriage, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos have shared many memorable moments as a married couple and as co-hosts, some of which include their longtime friend Al Roker.
Ripa, 54, and Consuelos, 53, recalled a text message exchange between the “Live with Kelly and Mark” star and Roker, 70, on a recent episode of their morning show.
“We met Al and Deb at a wedding,” Ripa told the “Live” audience. “And we exchanged numbers, because we’re like, ‘Let’s go on a couple’s date.’”
Roker and and his wife, Deborah Roberts, share the same dynamic, after being married for 30 years and working in the same industry as their partners.
Ripa explained that she and her husband were on the same carrier plan, therefore, sometimes the contacts in her iPhone would get confused with contacts in her husband’s iPhone.
Consuelos then revealed the text his wife received from Roker one night, which he viewed as a flirty message at the time.
“The cellphone was in bed and you were in the bathroom and it popped up. I was working in Canada and I was not living at home a lot. And this text [from Roker] went, ‘Hey, sweetie, when can we have dinner? Love, Al,” the “Riverdale” actor said.
Ripa quickly corrected her spouse by saying, “First of all, it did not say, ‘Hey, sweetie.’ That’s you putting your own twist on it.”
Consuelos continued, “She gets back into bed and I go, ‘Who the blank is Al!?’” Ripa responded, “And I go, ‘Al Roker, our new best friend!’”
Despite exchanging phone numbers with Roker, Ripa and Consuelos never went on a double date with the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade host.
The couple’s anecdote about Roker’s unintended text message sparked reactions online as people voiced their skepticism about the possible exaggerated tale.
“That isn’t how cell phone service works at all,” a skeptic of Ripa’s explanation wrote on Yahoo.
“I can completely believe Ripa believed it was a cell phone carrier problem. She is so spacey she can invent non-existent problems. More likely Al selected the wrong contact,” read a comment.
A third individual wrote, “Yeah — that’s a big lie. That’s not how mobile service or text messaging works at all.” Yet, another commenter stated, “No, not believable.”
Facebook users also weighed in on Consuelos and Ripa’s story. For instance, someone wrote, “I could see Al Roker texting that. It seems to fit him. Part trying to be sweet. Part messing with Mark.”
The “Live” show has been running for years with various co-hosts since 1983. It began under the name “The Morning Show” with Regis Philbin as lead and Kathie Lee Gifford as his co-host. After her exit, Ripa began appearing as a guest host before becoming Philbin’s official co-host in 2001. He retired 10 years later.
After a lengthy search for his replacement, Ryan Secrest joined Ripa in 2017. He lasted six years sitting next to her before revealing his exit in February 2023.
“It’s been a memorable ride and now I’m excited to pass the baton to Kelly’s ‘real’ husband, Mark,” Seacrest stated during his announcement that his time on “Live” was ending, per Deadline.
In April 2023, Consuelos replaced the former “American Idol” host as Ripa’s latest tag team partner on “Live.”
Throughout her stint on the show, Ripa also worked alongside ex-NFL player Michael Strahan as her co-host from 2012 and 2016.
Before becoming her co-worker on ”Live,” Consuelos originally met Ripa while auditioning for the “All My Children” soap opera in 1995. Their romance became public the following year when they debuted as a couple at the Soap Opera Digest Awards.
Consuelos and Ripa eloped in Las Vegas on May 1, 1996. They have three children – Michael Joseph (born June 2, 1997), Lola Grace (born June 16, 2001), and Joaquin Antonio (born Feb. 24, 2003).
In 2007, the pair launched Milojo, their New York-based production company named by combining the first two letters of their three children’s names. Additionally, Ripa guest-starred as a mistress to Consuelos’ character, Hiram Lodge, on “Riverdale” in 2019.
