Mark Consuelos is happy to entertain Kelly Ripa’s what-ifs.

During the Aug. 25 episode of Live With Kelly and Mark, the couple—who eloped in 1996—discussed the idea of looking for love again if their 29-year marriage ended, with Kelly admitting she had no intention of going the cougar route.

“If you and I were not together,” the 54-year-old began, “my next husband—I almost said, ‘My next husband, may he rest in peace’—will have to be one foot and one arm in the grave.”

Indeed, the daytime host—who shares kids Michael, 28, Lola, 24, and Joaquin, 22, with Mark—made it clear she would be looking for little else besides platonic companionship and a hefty inheritance.

“He has to have severe ED [erectile dysfunction],” she continued, “and at least $6 billion in the bank.”

Mark, 54, seemed supportive of his wife’s plan as he laughed and nodded along to her wish list, later sharing how he himself would handle the end of their hypothetical breakup.

Keep reading to see some of Kelly and Mark’s more scandalous revelations about their marriage…

“I would mourn the loss,” he told Kelly during the episode. “I’m assuming you passed away, ’cause why would you ever leave?”

When Kelly and Mark previously addressed the idea of parting ways earlier this year, she doubted her husband’s competence as a single man.

Disney/Lorenzo Bevilaqua

“I know if you and I broke up,” she said during an episode of Live in May, “you would absolutely fall apart, completely.”

And while Mark didn’t disagree, he wasn’t convinced he’d be alone for long.

“I do feel like someone would be there on the other end to pick me up and make sure I’m OK,” he responded. “I’d have to get used to their college schedule and all that stuff.”

After erupting into laughter at Mark’s wisecrack, Kelly assured viewers that the subject of a split was one they always approached in fun.

“We have these conversations all the time,” she explained. “I’m like, ‘What would happen if you found out that I faked my own death?’ And he’s like, ‘Well, my new wife and I would be very upset at first.’ It’s our favorite conversation.”

Keep reading to see some of Kelly and Mark’s more scandalous revelations about their marriage…

Bad Bedroom Behavior

So much for pillow talk. When husband Mark Consuelos joined Kelly Ripa for a February 2017 episode of Live! With Kelly (some six years before he claimed a permanent spot at the desk), she used the opportunity to issue a complaint.

“When there’s special married couple time in our house,” she explained, “he’s immediately mean to me afterwards and I don’t like that. I think it’s bizarre. He becomes short with me, like irritated.”

Though Kelly later insisted it was just a joke, her husband of two-plus decades felt the need to defend himself when he noticed her quip had become a trending news story. “I just wanted to set the record straight that no one can be mean after something if they are unconscious,” he declared on-air days later. “I sleep.”

Echoed his bride, “Maybe that’s what I meant. I didn’t really mean mean. I meant completely disinterested—like sound asleep.”

Perhaps a DM Would Have Been Appropriate?

There’s a reason kids Michael Consuelos, Lola Consuelos and Joaquin Consuelos are forced to tread lightly whenever they take an innocent scroll through social media.

Consider the time Mark revealed he’d be “taking over” the Instagram feed for his series Riverdale during a 2019 episode, prompting Kelly to comment, “Oooooooooooo. Daddy, I love when you take over.”

It’s just one of the reasons why the morning show fixture is pretty confident her children have done their best to erase any sign of them from social media.

“I’m certain they have blocked any channel with any mention of our names,” Kelly told E! News in April 2023. “Just like they block us on social media. They block us any way they can.”

Pants on Fire

Is that your gun or…? When Kelly posted a series of Halloween throwbacks in 2020—including Mark and pal Bruce Bozzi in full CHiPs regalia—her husband had a little something to say about the tight fit of his trousers.

“Full disclosure, I believe that’s definitely a shadow that’s causing that bulging effect,” he commented, causing his wife to reply, “ummmmm baby are you seeing shadows?”

And when Kelly appeared on E!’s Daily Pop days later, she wasn’t afraid to address what her man was packing. After host Justin Sylvester noted that was why they’d been married so long, she responded, “It’s not the only reason. But I would say the top three.”

What a View

Not that she’s griping, but the Halloween photo frenzy caused Kelly to get in the habit of doing a full-body scan before sharing any family memories.

When Justin Sylvester commented on Instagram that Kelly had been very deliberate with the images she’d shared from a November 2020 tropical getaway, the morning host cheekily replied, “You have no idea how carefully. And how limiting it all is (I’m not complaining).”

Taking Care of Business

The secret to their ever-lasting marriage after almost 30 years and three kids? “Love and sexy time,” Kelly said during a 2021 episode of Live!

The couple’s intimate way of dealing with stress came up when Mark was filling in as a guest co-host and he and Kelly were discussing the show Scenes From a Marriage.

“I was like, none of this would ever be happening in the Mark Consuelos household, because he would have nipped all of this in the bud immediately,” Kelly said of the marital turmoil they watched. “He would have been like, ‘Oh, you’re upset? I know how to take care of that. Oh, you don’t feel good about something? I’ll take care of that. Oh, you’re feeling like maybe you’re overworked? I got you. I know what you need.’”

She continued, “Because everything for Mark is settled with—” before Mark interjected, “Love.”

Kelly added, “Love and sexy time.” Mark said, “Not everything. Not everything!” But she confirmed, “Just about almost everything.”

Morning Glory

As long as he doesn’t expect her to get up and, you know, at ’em. While Mark is unabashedly a morning person when it comes to sex, “I find it disgusting,” Kelly admitted during a July 2025 appearance on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast.

So when it comes to their bedroom activity, she drives a hard bargain. “I said to him, ‘Here’s the thing,’” Kelly explained. “‘There needs to be a yin and a yang here. It can’t always be your way. It feels like 90 percent of the time it’s your way, and now that we work together every day, it’s gonna have to sometimes be my way. And my way’s at night only.’”

Fortunately for her, their early a.m. hosting gig usually takes care of that problem. “The greatest thing about this job,” she said of Live, “this thing has almost repulsed him from morning time during the work week—which is like a miracle.”

A Slip of the Tongue

Mark used some, uh, colorful language when Kelly posted a photo of herself in a rainbow-hued sequin sweatshirt. Commenting on the “More Glitter, Less Twitter” messaging on her top, the actor asked, “Baby, is that a G or a C..asking for a friend.”

Ah, Memories

Mooooooom! Apparently celebrating youngest son Joaquin’s 18th birthday brought to mind memories of being in her birthday suit. Because when Mark posted an Instagram tribute in February 2021, writing, “Our little guy is all grown up,” Kelly commented, “You know what? Making him was so much fun.”

And apparently quite the international experience, with Mark noting he was, uh, “made” during a trip to Montreal.

Let’s Talk About Sex, Baby

When Andy Cohen tasked his good pal with playing a game called “Have You Schtupped There?” on a September 2022 episode of Watch What Happens Live, the answer was unequivocally yes.

Public bathroom? Check. On set during their All My Children days? Mm-hmm. When they were on a boat? Uh-huh. As Cohen cracked, “You used to go to the bay in front of my house and schtup on that boat of yours.”

But while he surmised, “based on your Instagram PDA alone, it’s hard to imagine a place you and Mark haven’t done the deed,” there are a few spots that remain unchristened. Kelly confirmed they hadn’t (yet) gotten busy in a car on the way to an event, in a department store dressing room or on the set of their daytime talk show.

Logging Some Face Time

Kelly’s favorite position? The one that puts her good side on display. At the height of the pandemic, when she was based in NYC for her show and he was shooting Riverdale in Vancouver, “We had sexual rituals that were so ludicrous,” she recalled on a March 2023 episode of her Let’s Talk Off Camera podcast.

And also quite crafty. “I became so alarmed at my appearance over FaceTime,” she noted, “that I started hanging the computer on a ladder, so that I could look up to Mark [and] he did not have to see what gravity was actually doing.”

Lock It Up

Apparently Kelly isn’t the type to mix business with pleasure. While commenting on the romance that spelled the end of Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes‘ stints as co-hosts on ABC’s GMA3, Kelly joked that she and Mark were following network protocol now that he’s joined her behind the Live desk.

She and Mark “have taken a vow of chastity while we’ll be working together,” Kelly shared on Watch What Happens Live in April 2023. “Because I know how ABC does not like that, you know, TV partners banging on the side,” she added. “So, we promise, no banging on the side.”

I Think We’re Alone Now

Once youngest Joaquin was off to college in 2021, the married duo got used to feathering an empty nest. “Mark and I had gotten into our habits of just sort of wandering around as we please, you know, leaving the doors open as we please,” Kelly told E! News in June 2023. “And then, lo and behold, Lola comes back from London and now we’ve gotta lock it up again. Joaquin came home for his summer break, and we had to lock it up again.”

And when her parents moved into their New York pad for a stretch, the lack of privacy forced them to get a bit more creative. “You have no idea,” she cracked, “the lengths that we go to.

“Freak Week”Deets

When Lola moved back in with her parent for her last semester of college, she got into the habit of walking into their bedroom without knocking—a practice they were desperate to break.