Mark Consuelos Gets ‘Defensive’ as Kelly Ripa Discusses ‘Gray Divorce’ on ‘Live’: ‘Fascinating’

Kelly Ripa shocked her husband, Mark Consuelos, with her latest confession on Live With Kelly and Mark.

During an episode of the talk show on October 11, Kelly, 54, referenced an article she had read about a “gray divorce.”

“I started talking to Mark about it, and Mark got very defensive,” the All My Children actress admitted. She remembered Mark, 53, asking, “’Why are you reading that article?’”

Kelly said that the article just “popped” up on her newsfeed while she was stuck in an airport, and that it was “interesting” to her.

“Well, you came home from the trip, and you’re like, ‘I read this amazing article.’ I go, ‘Tell me about it,'” Mark said, to which Kelly responded, “I didn’t say ‘amazing,’ I said ‘fascinating.’ Fascinating article.”

A gray divorce is described as a divorce that happens to adults aged 50 and above.

“Back in 1990, only 8.7 percent of marriages among people over 50 ended in divorce. And by 2019, that number had jumped to 36 percent,” Kelly said.

The Emmy winner explained that there was an audio version of the article that sounded very captivating. “The astonishing rise of the gray divorce,” she said while doing an impression of the narrator. “And I was like, ‘Oh, I want one!’”

Kelly explained that there are various reasons as to why couple’s get a gray divorce, including empty nest syndrome and lacking common interests. She assured viewers that she was not actually serious about wanting a gray divorce and that she and Mark “still have a lot in common.”

Kelly and Mark are not ones to hold back from having candid conversations about their relationship while filming their show. In August, Kelly shared a statistic that said, “For more pleasurable sex, you should eat first.”

The TV personality added, “Apparently I’ve been doing it wrong all these years.”

“Now you know, I have a very strict no eating thing before,” she confessed. “He knows if we go out to dinner, and I order more than a sensible salad, he’s all bummed out. He gets bummed. He’s like, ‘Are you sure you want the burger?’ I’m like, ‘I’m absolutely positive.’”

Kelly and Mark, who share kids Michael, Lola and Joaquin, have been married since 1996.

“They say that soft caresses don’t feel as satisfying if you’re hungry,” Kelly read during the segment. “There’s a gut hormone that drives food motivation and increases [in] food intake was intrinsically linked to levels of pleasure. And so, it’s better to eat before you are intimate.”

Still, she maintained that she would be “sticking with [her] salad.”

All jokes aside, the couple have a rock-solid relationship. They celebrated their 28th wedding anniversary in May. When asked what their goals for their relationship were in the future, Mark said, “To continue what we’ve got going,” adding, “And by that I mean getting all the kids off the payroll.”

“We’re so close,” Kelly joked. “We can taste it! We can taste the financial freedom. Not that we’re not grateful for the three beautiful children that we love and adore.”