Cole Sprouse Says He and Girlfriend Ari Fournier Look Up to Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa's Relationship

It's been said for years and years that Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos' romance is truly couple goals. And now Cole Sprouse has eloquently put into words exactly why that is.

In a recent interview with the Suite Life of Zack & Cody star on her Let's Talk Off Camera podcast, Ripa shared that her husband admitted to her that he had a gut feeling the 31-year-old actor and his girlfriend, Ari Fournier, were going to announce they were engaged when they came over for dinner some weeks ago. Ripa joked she had to prepare herself in so many ways, and by the end of the night, she said her kidneys hurt from adrenaline and anticipation of news that never came to be.

Sprouse laughed off the story, but in an effort to not avoid the question, he exalted his girlfriend while revealing to Ripa why they as a couple admire her and Consuelos so much, especially in this day and age.

"Here's what I will say -- and I'm sure you understand this with Mark too -- when real compatibility comes into your life, it makes almost everything in the past feel like a lesson or a stepping stone to what you’ve arrived to now, and I think this is the first time in my life ... where I’ve been so wholly and completely able to be myself in a relationship, and I think that is a tremendous testament to her and the way she carries herself," said Sprouse in reference to Fournier.

The Riverdale star and Fournier were first linked together in March 2021, when they were spotted holding hands in Vancouver, Canada. Later that summer, they made their romance Instagram official. The relationship came on the heels of Sprouse's August 2020 split from his Riverdale co-star, Lili Reinhart.

"She looks up to you quite a bit. And I don't think it's a coincidence that Ari and I have gotten so close to you and Mark because I think you guys represent a kind of masculinity and femininity that we both find so admirable, especially in 2024," Sprouse continued. "And those definitions of masculinity and femininity are changing so rapidly for our generations and younger, and I think we both see you guys as such a testament to the power of that, especially since [twin brother] Dylan and [wife] Barbara [Palvin] -- and now my dad has gotten remarried -- I'm the last unmarried Sprouse."

"So, I'm getting this question all the time," added Sprouse in reference to when he's going to pop the question. "I will say, Ari, with her eternal gracefulness and elegance, has never put any pressure on a situation especially from a public perspective at all. And I love that. We're taking it one day at a time."

Ripa and Consuelos tied the knot on May 1, 1996 after meeting on the set of All My Children. They celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary last spring.

It's easy to see why Sprouse and Fournier admire Ripa and Consuelos, whose compatibility and chemistry is so palpable they've parlayed that into working together on the ABC daytime show Live With Kelly and Mark. The couple -- who shares children Michael, 26, Lola, 22, and Joaquin, 21 -- continues to be so enamored with one another after all these years.

In fact, Consuelos spoke fondly about Ripa back in September and said he finds comfort in his wife whenever he feels any level of nervousness.

"Every show I get nervous, I breathe, I look in your beautiful eyes, and I get to grab your arm and you grab mine and we go out there and it's better," Consuelos said at the time.

And if Sprouse is reading -- and whenever he's ready to pop the question -- it's worth remembering the marriage advice Ripa shared with ET in June 2023.

"The thing is, don't panic," she said at the time. "I think if you ask either one of us how long we've been married we'll probably say something in between three and eight years because that seems like a reasonable number to be married. But then we look and we have adult children and we've gone through a lot of things together. And our kids will show us documentaries that they think we'd find interesting and I'll say to them, 'Oh, you know, Dad and I were married when that went down.' And they're like, 'What? But look at how old-fashioned it is.' They can't conceptualize. It's funny. It goes faster than you think."

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