“I was never worried”: Kelly Ripa Unfazed by Criticism After Husband Mark Consuelos Replaced Ryan Seacrest, Claims it Was Inevitable

Kelly Ripa has been hosting the show Live! for 23 years now. In her hosting career, Ripa has seen quite a few new co-hosts. In February, her former co-host, Ryan Seacrest announced his retirement from the show. Mark Consuelos was announced to join as Ripa’s co-host after Seacrest’s departure. Consuelos has hosted beside his wife before but it was on a ‘fill in when needed’ basis. Now, he has joined as a permanent co-host. Change is never accepted unanimously. There are some people who criticize change every time.

The same thing happened in this case. Fans started trolling Ripa and Consuelos as they are about to set foot on this new journey. However, the couple seemed least bothered by the trolls.

Kelly Ripa On Getting Affected By The Trolls

Ripa introduced her husband as her forever talk show partner, joking he would be “joining me today and permanently until one of us dies.”. As soon as the episode aired the criticism barged in. Throughout the week, there was social media criticism that the famously frisky couple, who shared an on-air “partner yoga” session and a chat about their bedroom habits, were showing too much PDA. According to the sources, Ripa found these trolls irritating and also mentioned that she has to go through this every time there is a new co-host.

A production source shared, “If it wasn’t Mark — say it was Andy Cohen — it would be the same exact story.” In fact, Ripa supported her husband to her full potential.

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Kelly Ripa is Proud Of Mark Consuelos

Ripa shared that she is actually happy that her husband has joined her as a co-host. She said,

“I had no concerns about how well he was going to do and he really proved me right…I’m so proud of him, but I was never worried.”. Ripa continued, “I just told him to get out there and enjoy himself, be himself and he did.”.

The network hopes that Consuelos will help bring in a younger demo thanks to him having co-starred in the CW hit Riverdale. 

Reportedly, the plan for Consuelos to take over from Seacrest had been in the making for some time. As Consuelos joined, It was the show’s most-viewed week in nearly three years in New York.

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Ryan Seacrest Decided To Step Down

News broke in February that Seacrest would be leaving Live! after nearly six years. He got emotional after his last time walking on the stage along with co-host Ripa. A source confirmed that Seacrest needs a break from his schedule and is eager to expand in the food industry. There were fears that Seacrest had exhausted himself by shuttling between NYC, where the show is set, and Los Angeles, where he primarily lives.

However, Ripa rose above the change and didn’t get bothered much by the trolls. She welcomed her husband to the team and everyone on the set is happy.

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Source: VanityFair