Kelly Ripa broke down during a recent episode of Live with Kelly and Mark while speaking about a certain relationship that changed her life. Losing the woman named Yvette Siegel-Herzog has been hard on Kelly, who she paid tribute to during the show.
Yvette passed away at the age of 100, and Kelly could not hold back her tears. The 54-year-old expressed gratitude at how her late friend helped her youngest child perform well at school amid academic struggles.
Kelly Ripa reflects on her late friend’s impact
Kelly admitted that Yvette played a pivotal role in her family— especially with her son Joaquin Consuelos. Kelly and her husband Mark Consuelos enrolled Joaquin in Stephen Gaynor School, which was co-founded by Yvette to help kids with language-based learning disabilities.
She recalled crying for help in Yvette’s office years ago, which marked the start of their relationship. Joaquin remained at the special school until 8th grade, and Kelly shared a photo of his graduation with the audience during her emotional speech.
Kelly Ripa did not want to show up at work
Kelly confessed that she did not feel like doing work that morning due to the news of Yvette’s passing from the previous day; however, she made the most of her presence with the well-deserved tribute segment. Yvette’s partner and head-of-school Dr. Scott Gaynor also had lovely things to say about Yvette via the school’s website, terming her a visionary and trailblazer.
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Thanks to Yvette, Joaquin went from a dyslexic and dysgraphic learner to an A student at Michigan State University. Kelly also commended her 21-year-old son for cooperating with Yvette and his teachers through hard work and determination. The college student is now a member of his institution’s wrestling team and continues to surpass his parent’s expectations.