The 'Weird' Family Vacation Kelly Ripa And Mark Consuelos Took With Their Kids

After joining his wife Kelly Ripa for his "Live 2ith Kelly and Mark" debut in 2023, Mark Consuelos thrilled soap fans with the phrase "Hayley and Mateo forever." The duo met while playing those love interests on "All My Children." Their real-life relationship story includes getting married in 1996 and welcoming three kids: Michael Consuelos, Lola Consuelos, and Joaquin Consuelos.

All the Consuelos family children are adults. During the January 8 episode of their talk show, Ripa and Mark talked about their family holiday trip — which had a bigger crowd than usual because their children brought their partners along. Mark said, "That was really weird!" He then clarified: "No, it was great, it was great. I never thought it would happen."

Both Ripa and Mark commended their children for their good choice in partners. Ripa also expressed being unsure about the trip at first, adding, "Everybody seems nice when you have dinner with them, but how's it going to go?" However, she expressed they had a good time with everybody and said, "It was so nice." That wasn't the first time a vacation story was shared on Ripa's talk show. Back when the show was "Live with Kelly and Ryan," one of Ripa and Mark's children discussed a difficult family vacation moment.

Kelly Ripa and then-host Ryan Seacrest interviewed Michael Consuelos in 2021 on "Live with Kelly and Ryan" about the Consuelos-Ripa family's enjoyable vacation to Italy. Seacrest asked how it was sharing a room with his younger brother Joaquin Consuelos. Michael chuckled and said: "You know, about as well as you'd think. ... The problem is we both kind of snore. And so it was a war to see who'd fall asleep first because, you know, we didn't want to listen to the other one snoring." The brothers had different approaches — if Michael fell asleep first and snored, Joaquin smacked him to get him to stop. It looks like this wasn't a problem on their trip with their significant others, though, as Consuelos said their guests all had their own rooms.

As their kids have grown up, Ripa and Mark Consuelos have been open about handling the "despair" of becoming empty nesters. When their youngest, Joaquin, turned 19 in 2022, Ripa talked about parenthood and her family on "Live with Kelly and Ryan." Ripa said giving birth to Joaquin "100% seems like yesterday" and that the time flew by. It was especially apparent when she looked at photos of him through the years to make a compilation.

On the passage of time, Ripa said, "You blink, and when parents would say this to me, I would tune them out ... cause they would say, 'You know, the days are long but the years are short.'" Ripa didn't understand that sentiment at first but does now, saying, "And then suddenly you blink and they're gone." However, having grown-up kids means Ripa and her husband enjoy plenty of alone time.

While speaking with People in 2020, Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa spoke about the exciting side of having no kids living at home. Ripa explained they'd had kids for almost the full length of time they've been married, "So when it comes to an empty nest, we're looking forward to it, honestly." Consuelos chimed in with a cheeky response: "Rob Lowe says that once your kids leave, you pretty much never put clothes on ever again; you're just naked all the time. So there's that too!"

Ripa and Consuelos' 2023 Christmas card, which they shared on Instagram, leaned into "empty nester" life. It was captioned, "Happy Holidays, love the empty nesters," and included a photo of just Ripa and Consuelos. Despite the fun of an empty nest, Ripa and Consuelos adore their children and have shared kind words about them. In a video shot by People when the Consuelos-Ripa family was featured on the outlet's cover, they raved about each kid. Mark said Michael Consuelos was "so earnest," and Ripa added, "He's the kindest person I've ever met." Ripa complimented Lola Consuelos' sense of humor and Mark said, "She has a super high EQ [emotional intelligence]." As for the youngest Joaquin Consuelos, Mark cited his "quiet strength" and "great moral compass." 

And even though they may enjoy their solitude, their "weird" family vacation is proof that they will always make a point of getting the whole clan together. Ripa and Consuelos expressed their glee that their kids want to spend time with them. "It was really great," said Kelly of their vacation. "We had such a nice holiday."