“Live With Kelly and Mark,” starring married couple Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, premiered Monday, and “All My Children” fans are living to see Hayley and Mateo co-hosting the long-running morning show.
Ripa has been co-hosting “Live” for nearly as long as she’s been married to her (former) on-screen and off-screen honey: The two starred in “All My Children” in the ‘90s and early aughts as Hayley Vaughn and Mateo Santos.
They met on set in 1995, eloped in Las Vegas in 1996 and raised three children into adulthood. Now, they’re embarking on a new chapter together as “Live” co-hosts.
On the couple’s first episode, psychic Char Margolis, who 20 years ago predicted Ripa’s pregnancy with her daughter on-air, gave Consuelos a reading. This time, she predicted nothing but good things for show’s future.
“Honestly, I think that the show’s going to do better than ever,” Margolis said during her appearance. “And I’ll tell you why: The world’s having some big problems and people need a place to escape, and this show is based in love, and there’s nothing more important than family and friends.”
Ripa jokingly asked, “Now that we know the show will survive and is going to be great, what about our marriage?” The clairvoyant assured the couple she felt good about that too.
Ripa joined “Live” in 2001 following Kathy Lee Gifford‘s departure the year prior. She was paired up with Regis Philbin until his exit in 2011. Philbin, who died in 2020, was replaced by Michael Strahan, who co-hosted alongside Ripa from 2012 to 2016 before passing the mug to host-with-the-most Ryan Seacrest. Seacrest co-hosted “Live With Kelly and Ryan” for six years before making his exit last Friday.
The launch of “Live With Kelly and Mark” featured montages of the pair over the last few decades, plus Consuelos’ numerous guest appearances. “Thank you for joining us,” Ripa said after the memory-lane footage played. “It’s as if you’ve always been here.”
“All My Children” fans were flooding the comments section on Facebook as clips from the show were shared.
Marcia Mullins commented, “Wonderful show this morning. Meant to be. ‘Hailey and Mateo forever’”
Sherry-Richie Word chimed in: “Mark and Kelly are my favorite couple. I’ve loved them both ever since they were on All My Children.”
“This feels so full circle and I love it,” said Heather Michelle.
And Beth Ann Gump commented, “Oh I loved the show today I just so wanted to email you Kelly and tell you how beautiful you are! The show took me back when I watched Haley and Mateo ! I recently told my husband I thought Mark should be your cohost! I laughed, I cried and I look so forward to the show from now until forever!”
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