‘Better Than Baywatch’: Kelly Ripa And Husband Mark Consuelos Turn Up The Heat In Toned Swimsuit Photo

For Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, every day might as well have been the very first day they fell in love. The two tied the knot in 1996, and almost 30 years later they know how to keep things fresh and piping hot. Their latest couples photo shows Ripa in a figure-hugging one piece while Consuelos shows off his muscles in a dark swimsuit – and while this photo channels the flirty air that defines their relationship, another recent shot of theirs is all tender romance.

On top of their beach-savvy selfie, the couple also posed for a very meaningful shot: a recreation of their wedding photo from 28 years ago! Ripa and Consuelos first met on the set of All My Children; he was something of a fresh face, with Ripa having five years more experience on the program. For how easy they make romance look, even they got off to a bumpy start. But these hurdles have never been a setback and are a testament to love always finding a way.

Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa pose for sizzling swimsuit photo

Spring has barely sprung and Ripa and Consuelos are already ushering in some sweltering temperatures in their latest swimsuit photo. The picture features the two of them out on the beach with Consuelos wearing some trunks and a crooked smile as he regards the camera. Ripa is seen right beside him with a broad smile of her own wearing a dark, floral-print one piece bathing suit, her signature blonde locks left flowing free around her face.

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“Greetings from Captains Underpants,” Ripa playfully captioned the post, adding, “One last swim.”

Both actors’ social media pages boast their own share of candid photos starring the TV couple, who once played Hayley Vaughan and Mateo Santos on All My Children, and now host Live! With Kelly and Mark after Ryan Seacrest stepped down from co-hosting. This trend has their fans repeatedly excited – with one commenter replying to this latest swimsuit photo with an awed, “Just WOW you two!! It takes a lot of hard work to make it look this effortless.” But it also is a statement to how far Ripa has come in her own journey for body positivity and self-acceptance.

Today, Ripa is a proud mother of three, sharing children Michael, Lola, and Joaquin, but there was a time when this joyful cause for celebration was used to hurt Ripa. She returned to work after giving birth only to be met with body shaming. “The wardrobe people were like, ‘We thought you’d be smaller by now,” she shared on her podcast, Let’s Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa. “I was like, ‘Well, I’m not going to be smaller anytime soon. I don’t know much but here’s what I do know. This looks like it’s going to be here for a while. I’m not in any rush.’”

Issues of low self-esteem, body dysmorphia, ongoing anxiety, and shame about perceived flaws persisted after that. “I think all women who have given birth will tell you that they feel they are on an island,” she added, “I don’t care what the support system is.”

Fortunately, today she has quite the support system worth celebrating.

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos recreate their wedding photo and it’s like no time has passed at all

Another social media post with a lot of history behind it was the carousel Ripa shared showing her and Consuelos becoming husband and wife in ‘96 and the dedicated recreation they did today. “Viva Las Vegas,” Ripa captioned the then-and-now post. Both pictures show the soap opera icons looking at one another while positively beaming. The attire has changed, with Ripa opting for a vibrant teal top in place of her lacy white ensemble from 28 years ago and Consuelos added a lair of white flair to his formal attire. But the affection is very much the same.

On a February 28 episode of Live! With Kelly and Mark, the duo returned to the Chapel of the Bells in Las Vegas to officiate a wedding. While there, they couldn’t help but be overcome with memories of their own union – which was actually an elopement. They took time to relive the moment but also had to marvel at what had changed around them.

“Do you remember how you were feeling on our wedding day?” Ripa asked while in the chapel. To this, he replied, “Some of those feelings came back as I drove up. I started getting sweaty.”

There was plenty that was downright surreal about the experience. “Do you recall who we were back then? What kind of personalities we had before we settled in?” Ripa asked. Consuelos marveled, “We were 25 year olds. Our [oldest] son’s 26.” Ripa admitted such a concept “doesn’t make any sense!”

Sin City can make or break fortunes with the roll of a dice, growing or disappearing piles of cash. Consuelos and Ripa’s wedding demanded a shockingly low price tag, costing them $179 at the end of the day – and that’s including airfare. Consuelos admitted to believing that if he and Ripa pursued a larger-scale ceremony with pricey fanfare, “we would not have made it.” Ripa similarly predicted “feelings and blame all over the place.” It was a pleasantly surprising alternative to how any other ambitious venture could have unfolded at Vegas, with Ripa cheering, “We were like, ‘Now, this is gambling!’”

Consuelos didn’t mind placing one bet while there either, earnestly saying, “In a city where people roll the dice every day here, this is one of probably the safest bets I made.”

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