Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos have successfully managed to turn the whirlwind beginnings of their romance into a strong, nearly 30-year marriage.
The longtime couple, who are not only spouses but co-hosts of LIVE with Kelly and Mark, met on a different set, that of All My Children's, in which they starred as on-screen love interests Haley and Mateo.
They eloped in Las Vegas in 1996 a year after they first met, and nearly three decades later, they've revisited the place that saw them become husband and wife.
Kelly and Mark are in Sin City this week hosting a slew of LIVE shows from the newly-opened Fontainebleau resort on the Las Vegas strip, and took a moment out of their busy schedule to stop by the chapel where their elopement took place.
The Live Wire author later took to Instagram and shared not only a throwback photo of them at their 1996 nuptials, but also a new photo of them adorably recreating the romantic shot, in which they are fondly looking at each other, smiling ear to ear.
"Viva Las Vegas" Kelly wrote in her caption, and her fans and celebrities alike were quick to take to the comments section under the post and gush about the sweet moment, with longtime bestie Andy Cohen writing: "Omg," along a heart emoji, as the couple's daughter Lola, 22, added: "So cute."
Others followed suit with: "Love this and you two!" and: "The cutest couple," as well as: "Love. Love. Love. Gorgeous then. Even more gorgeous now. Love you two," plus after a fan added: "Congratulations… Hollywood marriage miracle," Kelly aptly replied back with: "Haha we're New Yorkers."
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Mark and Kelly later reflected on the poignancy of their one-week stint in Las Vegas to E! News, with the former noting: "I mean we started our lives here," and shared how they always try to revisit the chapel, Chapel of the Bells, where they tied the knot each time they are in the area.
© InstagramKelly recalled – and praised – their decision to elope during a previous LIVE episode in 2022, revealing to former co-host Ryan Seacrest that the decision was born out of the fact that both she and Mark both had the same two days off of work.
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© Jim AntonucciPlus, she added: "We looked at the weather because we thought about going to City Hall, but that was still cold and miserable, whereas in Las Vegas, it was 85 degrees and sunny… and so that's what we did."
"It really is such an efficient way to get married. And it was fun," she further emphasized, and admitted: "I don't think we would have made it to the wedding. There would have been hard feelings and blame all over the place. And I can honestly say, we do not feel less married. As a matter of fact, we feel more married than those people, because we're still married."
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