Even Kelly Ripa can hardly believe she’s spent 25 years greeting America each morning on “Live!”
Ripa, 53, celebrated the quarter-century TV milestone alongside co-host and husband of nearly 30 years, Mark Consuelos, during a special “Live with Kelly and Mark” episode on Friday, Feb. 20.
The episode on the nationally syndicated show features appearances from old friends (including frequent co-host Jerry O’Connell), the couple’s son Michael, 28, and voice messages from their other children, Lola, 24, and Joaquin, 22, who couldn’t attend.
“The one thing my children, and others, said was, ‘Here’s to the next 25 years,'” Ripa tells USA TODAY. “I was thinking, ‘Next 25 years? If I make it through the next 25 minutes, it’ll be incredible.’ Listening to people talk about me was torture. Like attending your own funeral.”
Kelly Ripa denies abandoning Regis In her new book, says friendship ‘didn’t really exist’
Kelly Ripa and guest host/husband Mark Consuelos during a 2010 episode of “Live! with Regis and Kelly” on June 9, 2010. The show is now “Live With Kelly and Mark.”
Here’s what to know about Ripa’s milestone:
Ripa recalls the psychic who saw her pregnancy on the first episode
Ripa insists she has very few specific recollections from Feb. 5, 2001, when “All My Children” star succeeded Kathie Lee Gifford as Regis Philbin’s permanent co-host and the show became “Live with Regis and Kelly.” She does remember psychic Char Margolis telling Ripa on air about her pregnancy with daughter Lola.
“I knew, Mark knew, but no one else knew. Not even our families,” says Ripa. “It was too early to tell people. So that’s a very cohesive memory.”
But many of the other TV moments replayed during the celebration were almost surprises to Ripa, who felt as if she was watching them for the first time.
“I kept saying to Mark, ‘I have no memory of that,'” says Ripa. “Then I realized I was either pregnant or nursing for a substantial amount of the time. It’s a lot of foggy, grainy memories.”
Watching the time on air inspired Ripa to give her younger self one piece of advice:
“It would be, ‘Don’t wear that,'” Ripa says. “I will say in my defense, maternity clothes in 2026 look very different from those in 2000. The options were very limited in maternity fashion, specifically.”
Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa in Sept. 2010 on “Live with Regis and Kelly.”
Ripa has passed Regis Philbin in the all-time ‘Live!’ hosting
Ripa had a complicated relationship with Philbin, who died in 2020, as she discussed in her 2022 memoir “Live Wire: Long-Winded Short Stories.” Philbin was first paired with Kathie Lee for a morning show in 1985, but “Live!” didn’t take its current format until it became nationally syndicated in 1988. Philbin retired in 2011, after 23 hears as the show’s headlining host.
Ripa has now been the top host 25 years, taking the chair with co-hosts Michael Strahan (2012–16) and Ryan Seacrest (2017–23), and now Mark.
“I still think of it as Regis’ show, and I’m the interloper,” says Ripa. “My producer, Cindy MacDonald, one of my best friends, still calls me ‘new girl.’ This show is bigger than the host. And then we move on, and other people step into our shoes.”
Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa attend the 95th Annual Academy Awards on March 12, 2023.
Ripa and Consuelos thought hosting together was ‘a terrible idea’
Ripa insists that both she and her husband initially thought permanent joint hosting wouldn’t work.
“We thought it was a terrible idea. It’s like who wants to see two married people bicker every morning,” says Ripa. “It turns out it’s very interesting and relatable.”
Kelly Ripa’s career, from soap operas to ‘Live!’ TV host success with Mark Consuelos
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Happy birthday, Kelly Ripa! The beloved TV host turns 55 on Oct. 2, 2025. To celebrate her big day, we’ve rounded up photos of her life and career through the years.
The two share intimate home details, including Ripa assuring her “All My Children” alum husband this week that he’d score a “gold medal” for farting while discussing a report about “smart underwear.”
“We like to put our own experience into these news articles,” says Ripa, who says there are no-go discussion areas. “I think we reveal just enough, and sometimes we don’t go far enough. I’m sure Mark would say that we always go too far. I’ll say that for him.”
Ripa says there are no post-show recriminations for what’s discussed on air, and, even on the well-choreographed show, there is no “safe” word to avoid topics that may get sensitive.
“We know each other so well, we don’t need a ‘safe’ word. But there’s a ‘safe’ glance,” says Ripa. “We already know what the other person is thinking.”
Ripa will ‘tap out’ of future physical show feats
Ripa has been game for on-air physical feats, from scaling a 30-ft wall with Cirque de Soleil to hanging upside down on a bungee cord with magician David Blaine.
In 2012, Ripa and executive producer Michael Gelman consumed copious amounts of alcohol and went night skiing with torches.
“That was definitely dangerous, particularly because we had all consumed alcohol before we did it,” says Ripa. “We have this theory that as long as we’re doing it on camera, nothing bad can happen.”
Ripa admits she’ll be cutting back on the TV stunts going forward.
“I’m older and wiser and more afraid of breaking a hip,” says Ripa. “Now, I’d probably tap out.”
Ripa has no fears of A.I. couple replacement
Ripa does not say how long she’ll continue with “Live!,” but the co-host does not fear being pushed out by A.I. simulations.
“There are certain things that A.I. cannot recreate,” Ripa says. “A.I. could never be as exciting or as boring as we are on anything.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kelly Ripa hits 25 years on ‘Live!’, still loves oversharing with Mark