Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos have been an iconic television couple since meeting in 1995 on All My Children. Today, they’re co-hosts of Live! With Kelly and Mark, but Ripa’s new co-host has exhibited some behavior that’s had her call him an outright monster in front of their audience in the middle of a little something they call Stump Mark. What did he do to bring the soap opera drama to daytime talk shows?
Last year, Ryan Seacrest parted ways with Ripa on Live! and is now taking over Pat Sajak’s job as host of Wheel of Fortune. Seacrest and Ripa aired their final episode together on April 14, and three days later saw the first episode featuring Consuelos in the co-host chair. They’ve been married since ‘96, but Ripa has some strong objections to Mark’s new habit on their show.
Consuelos is showing no mercy and will not be stumped under any circumstances
A little over a year later, Consuelos has already become a main fixture of Live! With Kelly and Mark. He is even the center of a new activity on the program: Stump Mark, which pits the Riverdale alum against an audience member in a game of wits. The prize: a mug and a T-shirt.
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Unfortunately for participating contestants, Consuelos is good. Very good. So good, in fact, more often than not, he is the winner.
It’s a trend that didn’t take Ripa long to clue into, and since everyone loves an underdog story, she quickly pledged her allegiance to Mark’s opponents, cheering for any opportunity for her husband to be dethroned at last. But one occasion, in particular, had Ripa downright insisting Consuelos be defeated, or else he was nothing but a monster.
Kelly Ripa tried to stop Mark Consuelos from becoming a monster towards one inspiring contestant
Enter North Carolina native Molly Galvin, who squared off against Mark and offered up two statements; one was a genuine fact about herself, and the other was a total fabrication. Molly said she has “been a social worker for five years” and that she “fostered five children the last five years.” Which is the truth?
Mark had the chance to make an informed guess by asking Molly questions about each claim. All the while, he had Ripa very vocally hoping for his downfall, now more than ever, because at the end of the day, one of these noble claims would be the truth. As far as Ripa was concerned, “If you rob her of her mug and T-shirt, you are a monster!”
For this particular round of Stump Mark, Consuelos asked about her supposed five foster children and about her experience as a social worker. Based on what he heard, Consuelos guessed that she was, indeed, a social worker. To Ripa’s outrage, Consuelos had been right. She made her disapproval very clear, so much so that Consuelos quickly tried to soothe her with an “Ok, ok,” while the audience took Ripa’s side. Ripa shook her head and replied in resignation, “Just arguing with Mark over what a monster he is…I’m distracting myself.”
Maybe another new host is in order, one who will show mercy to the admirable when mugs and shirts are on the line!
