Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos took part in one of their "favorite conversations" during the August 25 episode of Live With Kelly and Mark. The couple, who wed in 1996, discussed the idea of looking for love again should their 29-year marriage end, and Kelly had a very specific list of qualities she would require her "next husband" to have, including a "severe" case of erectile dysfunction, which amused Mark as he laughed and nodded along to his wife's demanding list.
"If you and I were not together, 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," Kelly, 54, began. Making it clear she would look for nothing but companionship, Kelly added: "He has to have severe ED. Severe," before joking: "And like, at least $6 billion in the bank."
Reeling off her hopes for her hypothetical future partner, Kelly explained: "I want him to be an only child. He's got no family, no children. He's mostly dead for all practical purposes. Severe ED, like unrecoverable, no medication can bring it back to work."
While Mark appeared supportive of Kelly's wants, he admitted the only way he would look for someone new is if she passed away. "I would mourn the loss," he said to a confused Kelly, who replied: "The loss of your marriage?" Clarifying, he stated: "Well, I'm assuming you passed away because why would you ever leave?"
While it's not the first time Kelly and Mark have discussed them splitting, she assured viewers in May that it was not a serious subject and just one they liked to joke about. "We have these conversations all the time. I'm like, 'What would happen if you found out I faked my death?' And he's like, 'Well, my new wife and I would be very upset at first.' It's our favorite conversation."
Marriage
Kelly and Mark have been married since 1996, when they eloped in Las Vegas one year after meeting on the set of All My Children, in which they starred as on-screen love interests, Hayley Vaughan and Mateo Santos. Kelly previously said that she knew Mark was 'the one' before she even met him. "I saw my husband in a photograph before I saw him, and I knew," Kelly said during an interview on SiriusXM's Radio Andy.
"I wasn't looking to get married... but when I saw him, the photograph of him, I saw my entire future with him flash before – like I saw it. And I don't believe in any of that, but now I do. Because of that moment." Not that marriage is always easy. Kelly has been open and honest about how they've made a success of their romance.
"Relationships, marriages are not sprints, it’s a marathon," she said during an episode of Live when she co-hosted with Ryan Seacrest. There's going to be like, mile 24 when you're like, 'I quit.' But you just got to push through. Just push through." Since their marriage, the couple has welcomed children Michael, 28, who is pursuing a career as an actor, writer, and director; Lola, 24, an aspiring singer; and Joaquín, 22, a graduate of the University of Michigan.