Kelly Ripa and Says ‘Old-Fashioned’ Marriage With Mark Consuelos Allowed Her to ‘Raise’ Their Kids

After 25 years of marriage, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos are experts on maintaining their unbreakable bond and parenting their three kids. The Live With Kelly and Ryan host credited their “old-fashioned” relationship on being able to “raise” their children and focus on creating an exceptional family.

“What’s funny is I think of us as such a progressive as a couple. I always think of us as politically progressive,” Kelly, 50, said during an April 2021 episode of the “Double Date” podcast. “And yet, when it comes to our own family and our marriage and our roles, I think of us as very traditional and almost old-fashioned in our roles.”

The All My Children alum — who shares Michael, 23, Lola, 19, and Joaquin, 18, with Mark, also 50 — was fortunate to “never [have] to leave home to work” as her hubby was the one who took on the traveling. This allowed Kelly to be there for her children 24/7 and create a “nest” in their Big Apple abode.

“I’ve been able to raise my kids here in [New York City], and he’s always been willing to travel and go to a set and go off here, and sometimes, he’s had to go live in another country to work on a set over there,” she explained. “Traveling is hard and being away from home is hard, and sometimes, he would miss milestones for the kids, and I know that was hard for him.”

Because Mark “made those sacrifices,” Kelly noted they’re “very traditional” in that way. “Some would say you made the sacrifice,” the former Hope and Faith actress continued, jokingly adding, “but I think he wouldn’t know how to find a ballet class. He wouldn’t know how to go about signing the kids up for religion classes.”

Looking back, Kelly and Mark — who wed in 1996 — said they “had a conversation” long before they had their kiddos and concluded the Queen of the South actor would financially support their family. Because Mark describes himself as a “traditional guy,” he wanted the Emmy Award winner to stay home with their little ones.

“I feel like there are certain roles … it’s hard to explain exactly what those roles are,” the doting dad said on the podcast. “I said, ‘Hey listen, there’s really only room for one man in this relationship and it’s going to be me.'”

No matter what approach the lovebirds take to parenting, it seems Kelly and Mark, as well as their children, couldn’t be happier. “They both keep family their top priority,” an insider exclusively told Closer Weekly in July 2018, adding “their kids are all healthy and well-adjusted.”