Kelly Ripa's husband Mark Consuelos has revealed the secret to their long and happy marriage of 27 years and counting.
The two first met in 1994 when he auditioned for the soap opera All My Children. which launched both of their careers.
Over the decades, their work led them in different directions, as she became one of the biggest morning hosts in America and he acted on shows like Riverdale.
But the constant has been their romance, where they fled Vegas on May 1, 1996 and have been together ever since, welcoming three children.
Now even their careers have collided once again, with Mark becoming the latest in a line of co-hosts to star on Live! with Kelly.
What advice does Mark have for maintaining a successful relationship?
Kelly Ripa's husband Mark Consuelos has revealed the secret to their long and happy marriage of 27 years and counting; pictured at the 2020 Oscars
The two first met in 1994 when he auditioned for the soap opera All My Children, which launched both of their careers (pictured)
The constant has been their marriage – they eloped to Las Vegas on May 1, 1996 and have been together ever since, welcoming three children; pictured 1997
“Find someone you like to walk on the beach with, talk about the future, about what you want,” Mark told the digital lifestyle magazine Mr. Feelgood.
'We did that when we were 24 years old, and we still do that now. Like, “Wouldn't it be great if we could do this?” the Hollywood heartthrob explained.
'I never want to stop doing that, dreaming about what we could do. Now people talk about grandchildren, and we design things around that. We want to be the magnets, we want to be the favorite grandparents. So we build the magnets so they have to come to us,” Mark said.
All three children Mark shares with Kelly are now adults: Michael is 26, Lola is 22 and Joaquim is 20.
“It's conversations like this that really connect us,” Mark said, reflecting on the way he and Kelly plan their future lives.
'Even though I know I'm very annoying and she is very patient. I would say that's definitely a big factor in our relationship: her patience.”
He waxed rhapsodic about Kelly, who “absolutely challenges me in the best ways possible.” I just go crazy for her when I look at her. Something's happening. That was the first thing: I can't not be with this person.'
Mark stated, “The word faithful is probably not strong enough, but I know she has my back, and I hope she knows I have hers.”
“Find someone you like to walk on the beach with, talk about the future, about what you want,” Mark told Mr Feelgood; depicted on All My Children in 1997
“We did that when we were 24 years old, and we still do that now,” the Hollywood heartthrob explained, “Like, 'Wouldn't it be great if we could do this?'”
All three children Mark shares with Kelly are now adults: Michael is 26, Lola is 22 and Joaquim is 20; pictured 2015
“Now people talk about grandchildren, and we design things around that – we want to be the magnets, we want to be the favorite grandparents,” Mark said.
He added, “And I love that as we go on, especially since it's been 27 years now, the chapters in the book of our love story are so different. Each chapter is so unique – and we have so many wonderful memories.”
In February 2020, Kelly revealed on Live! that Mark had just surprised her with roses to celebrate the 26th anniversary of the day they first met.
He approached her as she left the gym and said, out of her line of sight, “Hey, sexy,” leading her to assume she was about to be robbed.
She shared that “it never occurs to me that this person is talking to me, but it sounds too close, and I thought, 'I'm about to get mugged by someone – I'm about to get mugged by someone flirting with someone who doesn't even have the forethought to pay attention to me while they rob me!”
But eventually she realized it was Mark who gave her the flowers and explained that “today marks 26 years since we met.”
He waxed rhapsodic about Kelly, who “definitely challenges me in the best ways possible” and makes him “just crazy about her when I look at her”
Mark stated: 'The word faithful is probably not strong enough, but I know she has my back, and I hope she knows I have hers'; pictured 2006
'And I said, “You've got to be kidding me!” I said, “How did you know?” He says, “I've been working it out in my head because this is…” when we met, when he flew to New York to do a screening test for All My Children, that was the day we met ,' she said.
Mark treated Watch what's happening live the year before he and Kelly briefly separated just before their wedding.
During the split, they “had to meet” to promote All My Children on Live With Regis And Kathie Lee – the show Kelly would eventually co-host with Regis Philbin.
“We were lining up for a Queen For A Day, for the Mother's Day special, seriously, and we were together,” Mark said.
“She wouldn't talk to me and that drove me crazy,” he recalled, confessing that he “followed her to – in Central Park, I stalked her, and then I went – we went back to my house and then we got married we. the next day.'