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Kelly Ripa in the Live studios © Lorenzo Bevilaqua

Kelly Ripa looks beyond tiny as she poses for a photo in the Live studios

The star has been co-hosting Live since 2001

Hanna Fillingham
US Managing Editor
July 19, 2024
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Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos often pose with their famous guests in the Live studios, and this week resulted in an extra fun moment for the pair. 

The celebrity couple turned heads after welcoming former professional basketball player Shaq onto the show, who stood in the middle of the hosts as they smiled for the camera.

At 7ft 1inch, Shaq towered over both Kelly and Mark, and in image, which was shared on Live's Instagram page, Mark was seen looking up at the star while Kelly couldn't contain her laughter through her smile. 

Kelly Ripa looks tiny posing alongside 7ft 1 Shaq

Comments included: "Wow, he is tall," and "This made me Google how tall Shaq is!" 

Kelly has been co-hosting Live since 2001, first with the late host Regis Philbin, followed by Michael Strahan and then Ryan Seacrest. In February 2023, Ryan announced that he would be leaving the show after six years, and that Mark - who had filled in for Ryan over the years - would be replacing him. 

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos posing with Shaq in the Live studios
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos posing with Shaq in the Live studios

Kelly and Mark are incredibly down-to-earth and their partnership on Live is adored by fans, resulting in them receiving a Daytime Emmy win earlier this year. 

The pair live in New York City in a beautiful townhouse in the Upper East Side, where they raised their three children, Michael, 27, Lola, 23, and Joaquin, 21. 

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos pose for a photo together during a family vacation to Switzerland© Instagram
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos have been hosting Live together since 2023

The couple are empty nesters and initially struggled with the transition when Joaquin flew the nest to attend the University of Michigan. 

During an interview with People, Kelly and Mark opened up about coming to terms with being empty nesters after Joaquin left home in 2022. "It was deep, it was like a loss," Mark told the publication. 

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos on family vacation with their three children© Instagram
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos are doting parents to three grown-up children

Kelly added: "When Joaquin left, it was hard, the two of us and the dogs staring at each other, like 'Well, now what?'" 

"The first dinner I cooked, I'm not kidding, was for 12 people, and it was just the two of us. We sat there with this inordinate amount of food, neither one of us hungry at all." 

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos with children Lola and Michael - who is his dad's double!
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos with children Lola and Michael - who is his dad's double!

The couple's oldest son Michael lives the closet to them, having moved to Bushwick, Brooklyn, after graduating from NYU. He is an aspiring actor and has appeared in several productions and shows, including Riverdale, where he played a younger version of Mark's character Hiram Lodge. 

Their middle child and only daughter Lola, 23, is currently living in London, and is an aspiring musician. Joaquin, meanwhile, is studying drama at college but is also an avid wrestler and is part of the university's wrestling team. 

Kelly and Mark sit behind the desk on Live© ABC
Kelly has hosted Live in the mornings for over 20 years

Despite growing up in beautiful homes, Kelly and Mark's children are incredibly humble and have been raised with strong work ethics. 

Touching on the way their children are during a chat with Daily Mail, the doting mother said of her children's upbringing: "We want to raise productive people who are thoughtful and selfless." 

kelly ripa family reunion inside home
Kelly Ripa with her three children - Lola, Joaquin and Michael - inside their home

The star added: "I wanted to raise good, caring, generous, thoughtful people who are professional, who are polite, who don't expect the world handed to them."

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