Kelly Ripa had a “brutal” experience on set after welcoming her first son, Michael, in 1997.
“I didn’t recognize my body. I was on the soap and I had to go back to work nine days after [giving birth], nine days!” Ripa, now 53, shared during the Wednesday, December 6, episode of her “Let’s Talk Off Camera” podcast. “The wardrobe people were like, ‘We thought you’d be smaller by now.’”
Ripa, for her part, recalled knowing that she wasn’t “going to be smaller anytime soon” as she navigated returning to work postpartum. The actress went on to say that she “gained 68 pounds” when pregnant with Michael, now 26.
“I don’t know much but here’s what I do know,” she remembered thinking. “This looks like it’s going to be here for a while. I’m not in any rush.”
Ripa played the role of Hayley Vaughan on All My Children from 1990 to 2002. She met her now-husband, Mark Consuelos, on the set of the ABC soap opera, and the couple eloped in 1996. Ripa’s first two children, Michael and Lola, 22, were born while she was still on the show. She and Consuelos, 52, welcomed their youngest son, Joaquin, 20, after Ripa departed the series.
“I think all women who have given birth will tell you that they feel they are on an island,” Ripa explained during Wednesday’s podcast episode. “I don’t care what the support system is.”
Now that Ripa and Consuelos’ kids are grown, the parents of three often share anecdotes about their home life as they host Live With Kelly and Mark together. Ripa even tried to set Michael up with 65-year-old Sharon Stone last month.
“I wish I could introduce you to my children because my sons — as you know, we’ve discussed this over DMs — I have two sons that are very dichotomous in their personalities,” Ripa told Stone during a November “Let’s Talk Off Camera” episode. “They are not similar in any way. They disagree on everything — except the hotness of Sharon Stone.”
As they continued the conversation, the women spoke about how Hollywood men often date younger women, but older women dating younger men is still somewhat taboo.
Ripa, for her part, took this as an opportunity to enter matchmaker mode.
“Sharon, I could set you up with my son right now. He is 26,” she joked. “I would like for you to be my daughter-in-law. That would be the greatest honor of our family. It would be the joy of my life.”
As it turns out, this isn’t the first time Ripa has attempted to marry off her son. During an October episode of Live With Kelly and Mark, Ripa admitted that she’s tried for “many, many years” to set her sons up with The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum Lisa Rinna’s daughters, models Delilah, 25, and Amelia, 22.
After seeing Amelia walking down a runway, however, Ripa changed her mind. “Never mind,” she quipped. “He wouldn’t know what to do with that.”
