Kelly Ripa Returns to ‘Live’ With Husband Mark Consuelos After Brief Hiatus From Talk Show 

After a brief hiatus from cohosting Live With Kelly and Mark, Kelly Ripa is back in action. The talk show personality returned to the program on Monday, July 24, after missing two episodes in a row. 

Kelly, 52, was all smiles as she sat at the news desk next to her husband, Mark Consuelos. She rocked a blue and pink high-neck dress and loose curls in her hair during the episode. Mark, 52, matched his wife in a pink button-down shirt. 

During Monday’s hour-long episode, the pair interviewed Stars on Mars competitor Porsha Williams about her experience on the William Shatner-hosted series. Later this week, Kelly and Mark are set to conduct interviews with guests Andrew Rannells, Kenya Moore, Michael Symon and Craig Ferguson. 

Kelly and Mark’s chemistry was off the charts as usual, sharing several laughs and cute moments throughout the broadcast. Kelly’s highly anticipated talk show return came just one day after she posted a revealing photo of her husband on Instagram.

“It’s that time of year again,” she captioned a sizzling July 23 picture of Mark while he was shirtless and floating in a pool.

Kelly and Mark have never shied away from sharing their swimsuit snaps, PDA-filled moments and candid confessions on TV. Earlier last week, Kelly made a shocking comment about what she would do if she won the massive Powerball jackpot. 

“Listen, just so you know, I probably won’t be here tomorrow or forever because I’m going to hit the $900 million Powerball,” Kelly shared. “Nobody will even notice I’m gone. They’ll just think I’ve had work done.”

Kelly’s comment coincidentally came just before she decided to take a few days off from Live to focus on other projects.

Last week, Maria Menounos filled in for Kelly on Live during Thursday and Friday’s episodes. Maria, 45, recently welcomed her first child, daughter Athena, via surrogate with her husband, Keven Undergaro. 

Backstage, Kelly and Mark gifted Maria a basket full of pink baby clothes for her little girl. Maria gushed over Aunt Kelly and Uncle Mark’s adorable present and could not wait to dress her daughter in all of the stylish clothes. 

“I will take credit, but I had nothing to do with it,” Mark confessed in front of the audience about the gift basket. “My wife is the best gift-giver.”