kelly ripa children young

Kelly Ripa reveals heartbreaking meaning behind son's name

The Live! star spoke out on her show

Online Digital News Director
June 29, 2021

Kelly Ripa is a proud mom to three children with husband Mark Consuelos. And now she has revealed how the couple came to decide on their names – Michael, Lola and Joaquin. Appearing on Live! with her co-star Ryan Seacrest, the 50-year-old was asked how she chose her kids' monikers and whether it had been a difficult decision.

"So, it was not difficult except that there was – with my first two kids, things sort of happened," she began.

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"So Michael – both of Mark's grandfathers passed away right before he was born. I mean, two weeks before he was born. So he wound up being named after them. That was not the name we had intended. We sort of liked the name Joaquin a lot and we thought we would name him Joaquin."

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Kelly continued: "And then, our daughter – we didn't know if she was a boy or a girl – but we'd come up with the name Sophia if it was a girl. If it was a boy, Joaquin.

Kelly and Mark are proud parents of three

"I was in labor, back of the cab, I was very uncomfortable! And the cab driver had the radio on a seventies station and Copacabana by Barry Manilow was playing. And that opening line, 'Her name was Lola' and I was like, 'It's a great name! We should write that down…' And then with Joaquin... we finally named a child Joaquin!"

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Kelly and Riverdale star Mark have been married since May 1996 when they eloped together. Eldest son Michael was born in June the following year, followed by Lola in June 2001. Joaquin arrived to complete their family in February 2003.

The couple recently celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary

In celebration of her 25th wedding anniversary earlier this year, Kelly decided to get a tattoo of the date 5.1.96 inked on the inside of her elbow – and Mark was a big fan. "I love her tattoo. I think it's adorable," the 50-year-old star later told People. "I think it's beautiful. I saw it for the first time last week. I think it's fantastic."

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