The couple, who co-host ‘Live With Kelly and Mark’ together, have been married for over 30 years.

The Gist

By all accounts, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos—who just celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary back in May—have anything but a loveless marriage. But Consuelos admitted that, even if they did, he’d still stay in their marriage for this specific reason.

During a pre-taped summer edition of their show Live With Kelly and Mark that aired on August 11, Consuelos said that he’d stick around for the couple’s beloved dog, Lena. The subject came up as the two discussed a proposed law in Pennsylvania that Ripa explained would “recognize pets as family members, elevating their status in situations such as divorce (per Entertainment Weekly).

“Listen, let’s just put it this way,” Consuelos said. “I would stay in a loveless marriage just to make sure I could be with Lena every day. That’s how much I love Lena.”

“Is that all you’re asking for, is a loveless marriage?” Ripa playfully retorted. “Because that can be arranged!”

To this, Consuelos laughed and said of Lena, “I would stay up at night, wondering what she was doing.” Ripa joked that he’d probably be “wondering if some other man was petting her” in his absence.

Ripa and Consuelos married in Las Vegas on May 1, 1996, and have since welcomed three children together: Michael, Lola, and Joaquin (and dogs, too). Before Lena, the family had another beloved dog, Chewie, who died in 2025.

Ripa cried on air at the time, explaining how Chewie was there for her and Consuelos during key moments in their lives, including raising their three children. “This is not how I wanted this to go down,” Ripa said of her tears. “God, she gave us so much. We’re filled with gratitude for this dog. I apologize—I’m so sorry. She gave us so much.”

“As each one of our kids left for college and then moved out on their own, Chewie remained right there, like our steadfast companion,” she continued.

“She was just a great part of our life,” Consuelos added.

Per People, the couple adopted Lena after she was featured on a “Happy Pets” segment on their show in 2021. As a photo of the Maltese and Shih Tzu mix went up on the screen for the audience to see, Consuelos said, “That’s my Lena,” before Ripa added, “She really is a dollface. She’s such a doll.”

Speaking of Ripa and Consuelos’s love-filled marriage, Consuelos gave a sneak peek into their secret to three decades of success while speaking on the May 14 episode of the “I’ve Never Said This Before With Tommy DiDario” podcast.“One of the great things my dad taught me was—and I’m not sure how we got on this conversation, maybe I was going through a breakup early on in college—he’s like, ‘You know, you gotta find somebody that’s better than you, Mark,’” he shared. “He didn’t say marry above your station, but he said, ‘Find somebody who’s gonna pull you up, that’s gonna make you better.’ And I did. I was lucky enough to find somebody like that.”Ripa has had sweet words of her own to say about her husband over the years, too, including earlier this year on the show. She called marrying Consuelos the “best thing I’ve ever done in my life,” to which Consuelos added, “I feel like it wasn’t even a decision. It was like—it was a thing that was destined to happen.”