Mark Consuelos Convinced Kelly Ripa Not to Retire From ‘Live’: “It’s Definitely Breathed New Life Into Me”

Kelly Ripa was considering retiring from Live until her husband Mark Consuelos stepped into his new role as co-host. 

Ripa praised Consuelos’ hiring in an interview with Variety, saying, “It’s definitely breathed new life into me. This is a bird of a feather I understand completely. There is no anxiety about it.”

The two also revealed that the idea to replace Ryan Seacrest — who hosted the ABC talk show for six years — with Consuelos came from the network.

“We’d be the last people on earth to suggest ourselves to work together for anything,” said Ripa. “They were putting the data in front of us, like, ‘Do you realize how much you’ve worked together in your careers?’ And it actually really started to make sense to us.”

The longtime television host said that the network “seemed pretty set on Mark,” adding that no other names were floated around for the position.

In the past, the Riverdale actor has made several appearances on Live with Kelly and Ryan as a guest host. He said that in order to fulfill his new full-time gig he needs to “separate” himself from “the husband role.” 

Consuelos said, “The show is the No. 1 talk show in daytime. It’s like coming on to a championship team – and being a pivotal part of a team, you just don’t want to screw up. I want to keep them on a winning streak.”

Seacrest exited the talk show last Friday (April 14) through an emotional pre-recorded event. Immediately after, the show was rebranded to Live With Kelly and Mark. While breaking the news of his departure during a live broadcast in February, Seacrest said, “Working alongside Kelly over the past six years has been a dream job and one of the highlights of my career.”

Live with Kelly and Mark airs weekdays at 9/8c on ABC.