Why Kelly Ripa & Mark Consuelos will ‘butt horns’ on set of new Live show, says relationship expert
KELLY Ripa and Mark Consuelos never hold back when gushing about their red-hot love life or blissful alone time at home.
But a relationship psychologist claims that working together on their new TV gig, Live with Kelly and Mark, spells trouble ahead.
TV host Kelly will be joined by her husband Mark on the set of Live from Monday, April 17.
Their new professional partnership will also see the U.S. daytime show rebranded as Live with Kelly and Mark.
But while they’re probably hoping their onscreen chemistry consistently holds up the ratings, Kelly and Mark’s settled personal life looks set to permanently change.
Interestingly, around the time of the announcement in February, Kelly told US Weekly: “Mark and I owe everything we have in our professional lives to ABC.”
She added: “We met there at the beginning of our careers and got married and had our kids while there.”
In an exclusive interview, psychologist Jo Hemmings told The U.S. Sun: “This couple’s new routine and upcoming daily collaboration at work is likely to cause tension and strife.
“Here is two people, with independent careers and who have been married for almost 30 years.
“While they have had a few ups and downs, as expected in any relationship of that duration, the arrangement has worked well for them.
“That’s now going to be seriously disrupted with the new show.
“A whole new dynamic will come into Mark and Kelly’s lives even though he has guest-presented before.
“Their big new roles could well cause considerable strain as they attempt to pivot away from the personal relationship to a professional one every day during the week.
“Then they’re going to go back to a personal life at night and at the weekends.
“They’ll lose their professional independence.
“They may find that the familiarity of an intimate relationship will conflict with the demands of a professional one.
“It’s going to be a challenging and stressful time for them, which they’ll be feeling in the run-up as well.
“While these two are highly compatible and are both family-oriented, they’re also stubborn, strong-willed, and fiercely independent.
“What they have in common may well be their Achille’s Heels when working together.
“The similarities they share mean that they are more likely to butt horns professionally.
“Kelly and Mark will each have strong views on how their on-screen relationship should pan out and it might not be the same.”
Recently, Kelly and Mark hit the red carpet at the Oscars in Los Angeles, where Mark confirmed the date he’d be joining Kelly’s show.
“I am so excited… I could not be more honored and excited,” the actor said animatedly.
But this major change to the program’s look and feel is yet another in a line of many for veteran broadcaster Kelly.
The 52-year-old star has worked with several co-hosts through the years after joining Live in 2001.
These have included the late Regis Philbin, 88, and Good Morning America host Michael Strahan, 51, who was replaced in 2017 by Ryan Seacrest, 48.
“Kelly is the one with all the history and experience on this program,” says Jo.
“She’ll feel that she has every right to be the lead anchor. She probably expects to be paid more.
“Kelly has already complained that her pay was less than Mark’s when he started on All My Children in the ’90s — even though she had been there longer.
“Kelly will also expect to secure better stories and cover more prestigious interviews because she’s more experienced than Mark.
“She’s going to be having some very candid conversations with Mark as to how they’re going to make this work.
“They’ll likely be needing some in-house help with all of this.
“Kelly and Mark will be working on finding a balance and a clear boundary between work and play.
“They might be thinking through how not to take their work home with them, otherwise those boundaries will get quickly blurred.”
Kelly and Mark married in 1996 after meeting on the soap opera All My Children.
The couple went on to have three children: Michael, 25, Lola, 21, and Joaquin, 19.
And while Kelly carved out an iconic career on TV, in 2019 she was honored with her sixth Daytime Entertainment Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host.
Through their 26-year marriage, Mark has for the most part remained in the acting industry.
He has appeared on Riverdale while making guest appearances on TV shows such as Law & Order.
He also helps run the couple’s production company, Milojo, in New York.
Recently, during an episode on Kelly’s new podcast, Let’s Talk Off Camera, where Mark was her first guest, the pair openly discussed difficulties in their marriage.
Kelly revealed her husband wasn’t always her biggest cheerleader in the workplace, plus that he came across as ” insanely jealous.”
“My biggest complaint about you over the course of our marriage — and this is not recent because it definitely changed,” she said.
Kelly added: “But you used to be insanely jealous, and that was a hard pill to swallow.”
“Mark has to realize that not only will Kelly miss Ryan, but he has also been co-hosting with her for six years,” adds Jo.
“He’s going to have to do a great deal to support her through this transition.
“Mark needs to realize that he can’t enter the show and take over in any way, he must be respectful to Kelly’s lead role.
“He may have to take some direction from her, so he needs to be ready for that.
“Their home/work balance will need to be re-tuned by having honest and upfront conversations with each other.
“They might have to address all the potential issues that might come up — a change in their relationship dynamic, seniority ‘rules.’
“Perhaps they could work on not taking work issues home, how their careers are now merging, and what it might feel like being together for so much time.
“If they have an argument at home about anything personal as couples do, these are the sort of things they must discuss.
“They’ll have to decide how they must not bring their issues to work.
“Viewers will be scrutinizing them for any signs of potential conflict between them.
“They will have to learn to immediately dial down any rows that they might have and switch up pure professionalism.
“Inevitably when high-profile couples work together, like Nick and Vanessa Lachey for example, it is likely that they will clash.
“Kelly and Mark will find it difficult to separate their personal and professional lives.
“This will put an additional strain on their relationship.”