Kelly Ripa And Mark Consuelos Hid Their Romance From Their Former All My Children Costars
Today, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos don't do much to hide their romance. They have three kids, work together on "Live with Kelly and Mark," and post the most adorable #CoupleGoals snaps to their social media. But back in the '90s, these two were desperately trying to hide their romance from their co-stars on "All My Children." The two met on the soap opera and started dating in 1995, before marrying in secret the following year. Only, Ripa revealed on "Live with Kelly and Mark" in February 2024 that they specifically didn't tell their co-workers. "We worked together and we didn't want it to be perceived that somehow we couldn't work together," Ripa explained of why their relationship was all so hush-hush (via New York Post). "Nobody at ['All My Children'] knew we were even dating, much less married to each other," she added. When their secret wedding became public, they'd already been married several months. Consuelos elaborated on the need for secrecy to People the following month, explaining, "People tend to think there'll be problems when you're dating your costar."
Though the couple had already made their red carpet debut together at the Soap Opera Digest Awards in February 1996, they split shortly after, which explains why their costars didn't know they were dating again when they wed the following month. Consuelos even revealed on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen" in 2019 they actually eloped to Las Vegas the day after reconciling (despite Ripa not being his type).
Wendy Williams told the world about Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos' wedding
When it came to how Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos' friends at work found out that they were married, it was none other than Wendy Williams who dished the gossip to the world. During the aforementioned February 2024 episode of "Live with Kelly and Mark," Ripa shared that Williams broke the news on her radio show after being given the scoop by someone who saw them at the courthouse. Ripa said that she and her husband of a few months were listening in live the morning the news became public, recalling, "There was this eyewitness that worked in the Clark County courthouse that said we eloped, and the news broke, and we had to tell everybody we were married."
However, it sounds like that wasn't the only way their friends at "All My Children" found out. Ripa seemingly suggested that someone had also called the soap to let the team know what the two had been up to. Speaking to People in March 2024, Ripa explained of how the truth about their super serious relationship came out: "Someone recognized us in Vegas and called the show."
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos' secret wedding wasn't a big, lavish affair
Understandably, because they didn't want a lot of people to know, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos' wedding wasn't exactly a super lavish event. In fact, Ripa told her now former co-host Ryan Seacrest in 2022 on the show, then titled "Live with Kelly and Ryan," that the whole thing only cost $179 – including their plane tickets! She also opened up about what inspired them to elope, despite them not even being a couple two days before. "[We had] two consecutive days off from work, both on the same day. And it was like, 'Let's go to Vegas and get married and it'll be fun,'" Ripa shared (via People), noting that they wanted sunshine because the weather was so bad in New York City. "We looked at the weather because we thought about going to City Hall but that was still cold and miserable, whereas Las Vegas, it was 85 degrees and sunny. 'Let's do that!' And so that's what we did," she said.
And, clearly, that quick decision all worked out. Though these two don't celebrate Valentine's Day in a big way anymore, there's no doubting Ripa and Consuelos are just as in love as ever. That's why they've made it clear they'll never renew their vows because they think it can be a bad omen for the end of a relationship.