Mark Consuelos Joins 'Live With Kelly and Ryan' After Ryan Seacrest Announces He's Leaving Show
Welcome, Mr. Consuelos! Mark Consuelos appeared on Live With Kelly and Ryan on Friday, one day after news broke that the 51-year-old actor would be joining his wife, Kelly Ripa, as a permanent co-host on her long-running talk show. He will be replacing Ryan Seacrest, who announced on Thursday that he was exiting the show after six years.
Consuelos stepped out onto the stage, declaring he had "no second thoughts" about joining his wife on the syndicated program. "I will have a list of grievances," he quipped. "I mean, I listen, I watch. This is my favorite show in the morning."
"He has to say that," Ripa chimed in.
Seacrest asked Consuelos if it was a "tough decision" for him to officially join the show.
"No, you know the thing was that we did this before and much more difficult circumstances," Consuelos said of working with his wife on the soap opera All My Children. "We worked together on a soap opera for seven years."
Seacrest also gushed about Consuelos and Ripa, telling the former Riverdale star, "I just do want to say, you are a brother to me. You are a family member to me. I have become so close with both of you and you as well and the three of us sat before I moved out here and had real conversations about doing this for a few years and it ended up being longer than I thought. And I couldn't be happier to see you come in and be next to your wife every day, who we both know is the most amazing human being on the planet."
Consuelos mirrored the sentiment, telling Seacrest, "Ryan, I echo that and I couldn't think of a better person to sit next to my wife for the past six years. You’re a true friend. You're generous to my wife, to my whole family. I got to meet your family through it, which I love your parents, your niece and your sister and brother-in-law. And that chair, listen, that chair that you're sitting in, it's an iconic seat. It's a great honor for me to sit there. It's an iconic show, and I think it's going to be a blast. But thank you, man, I really appreciate that."
Seacrest announced during Thursday's Live that he is exiting the talk show come Spring after six seasons. A source told ET that he was "burnt out" with the role due to his other commitments.
"Ryan has been contemplating leaving the show for years and has been very conflicted," said the source. "He truly loves working with Kelly and the Live crew. However, with American Idol's upcoming season filming in Los Angeles and other opportunities, he felt leaving the show was the right thing to do."
The show will be rebranded to Live With Kelly and Mark after Seacrest's exit.
"Choosing Mark as Kelly's new co-host was easy," the source added. "The network and Kelly wanted to avoid her and a new co-host not hitting it off. Mark and Kelly have hosted before and it's always gone well with fan reaction."
Shortly after the news broke, Consuelos posted a message to Seacrest, writing, "Congrats on your next chapter @ryanseacrest. I love you like a brother. I know I have some big shoes to fill … well actually they’re only a size 9, but you know what I mean. @kellyripa my ride or die. This is going to be amazing! I can’t believe after all these years of listening to you talk for free, I found a way to get paid for it. Is this a great country or what? ❤️"
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