Kelly Ripa may have passed down her stunning looks to her children, but there’s one trait she wishes they hadn’t inherited. During Friday’s episode of LIVE with Kelly & Mark, the host revealed a quirky habit she shares with her son, Michael Consuelos: an uncontrollable urge to laugh during serious moments. "Mark knows this about me, everybody here knows this about me, and there’s a couple of people that work here at Live that also suffer from this, where we laugh during uncomfortable or serious situations," she admitted. "I am not proud of it. It is something I try to control. The more I try to control it, the worse the laughter gets. I have broken up during funerals. I am not proud of this."
The mother-of-three then proceeded to read a news headline that claimed "laughing during a serious situation can be a sign of high intelligence." "Psychologists explain that laughter in tense situations isn’t insensitivity. It’s the brain’s clever way of diffusing stress, regulating emotions, and keep perspective. People who laugh under pressure often show stronger creativity, problem-solving, and resilience," read Kelly. Mark Consuelos then weighed in on the conversation as he shared an insight into his son Michael's personality.
"Michael, our son, has that, as well," he said. Kelly admitted that while she struggles to control the habit herself, her son is even worse. "He has the worst tragedy giggles. He inherited it from me. It is terrible. It is the worst. I mean, if somebody tells us something really horrible, we are literally like this," she shared before playfully pretending to control her laughter by pressing her lips together. "[We’re like,] 'Oh, my gosh. I’m so sorry! I don’t know why I’m laughing.' It is terrible." Kelly concluded: "It comes across as very insensitive. But as it turns out, we’re geniuses."
Kelly and Mark share three children – Michael, 28, Lola, 24, and Joaquin, 22. Michael has appeared on the show numerous times and even taught his parents a recipe for chimichurri skirt steak on-air back in July. "Where did you learn how to make this?" Kelly asked her son. "I live by myself, you know. I’ve got my own place and I cook a lot, so yeah. Also, YouTube," replied Michael.
It looks like Michael is also carrying on the family tradition with a career in TV. "I’m producing a few different projects right now," he shared. "I just finished with Netflix’s Owning Manhattan Season 2, which is gonna be really exciting. Definitely check that out."