From Her Bargain Wedding Dress to Her World Records, Here Are 12 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Kelly Ripa

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Published Sep 28, 2020

When it comes to Kelly Ripa, we like to think we’re almost experts. We pretty much follow everything from her daily outfits on Live with Kelly and Ryan to her birthday shoutouts on social media. Not to mention, we’ve done our own deep dive into her net worth and impressive professional career.

However, as it turns out, there’s a handful of things we didn’t know about the 49-year-old television personality. For example, did you know she has her own production company? Or that she only paid $199 for her wedding dress? We’re serious.

Keep reading for 12 fun facts we didn’t know about Kelly Ripa.

1. Ripa was born and raised in New Jersey

Stratford, New Jersey, to be exact. She is the daughter of Esther, a homemaker, and Joseph Ripa, a labor union president and bus driver, and has one sister, Linda (more on her later).

2. She Began Her Career As A Dancer

The TV personality began taking ballet at the age of three, so it’s no surprise that her career originally focused on dancing. Her first exposure to national television was in 1986 when she was cast as a regular dancer on the program Dancin' On Air which eventually led to her spot on Dance Party USA.

3. SHE MET HER HUSBAND, MARK CONSUELOS, ON THE SHOW ‘ALL MY CHILDREN’

Landing her reoccurring role as Hayley Vaughn Santos on the ABC soap opera All My Children was important to both her professional and personal career. Not only did her acting fame take off from there, but it’s also where she met her husband. It’s true—Ripa starred on the series from 1990 until 2002 while Consuelos snagged the role of Mateo Santos on the popular soap opera in 1995. The couple share three children—Lola, Joaquin and Michael.

4. Ripa and Consuelos Eloped

One year after they met, the couple tied the knot in Las Vegas. The craziest part? The duo actually called it quits not long before they got married. The day after they got back together, they got hitched. They celebrated with a romantic vacation to Italy.

5. Her wedding dress cost $199

In 2016, Ripa opened up to the Live studio audience about the history of her wedding dress, which she wore on a recent vacation. “I bought it at the Barneys Warehouse Sale and the dress is actually 25 years old,” she said, per Huff Post. “My marriage is 20 years old. I didn't buy it as a wedding dress. I just bought it because it was really pretty and I wanted to buy something from the Barneys Warehouse Sale. I was working on the soap, I wasn't making a lot of money, it was $199 on final clearance sale and I was like, 'Do I eat this week or do I get this dress?' Literally that was the thought process. And I said to myself, 'I bet if I buy this, maybe it will be an investment piece. Maybe I'll wear it more than once.'”

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6. She holds three Guinness World Records

Yup. In 2018, Ripa and Ryan Seacrest set a Guinness World Record when they made the largest elephant’s toothpaste fountain (we’re not sure what that means either). And the other two are just as ridiculous. She also set the Guinness World Record in 2006 for the most banana cream pies tossed in her mouth in one minute (24) and in 2010, she enlisted Anderson Cooper to play the largest game of human mattress dominoes.

7. Ripa is an active participant in Mothers Against Drunk Driving

While she has always been an active philanthropist, Ripa has a very personal reason for being a part of MADD. In 1999, her younger sister, Linda, was hit by a teenage drunk driver who ran a red light while going way over the speed limit. To make matters worse, she was eight months pregnant at the time. Luckily, although she sustained injury, both Linda and her baby survived. Since then, Ripa has remained an active member of the organization. And in 2001, she even served as national chair for MADD’s “Tie One on for Safety” campaign.

8. She has a massive net worth

Ripa has a fortune of $120 million to be exact. The 49-year-old has been raking in the dough for years as an actress, entrepreneur and dancer, and she clearly has the net worth to show for it.

9. Ripa and Consuelos own a New York-based production company

It doesn’t come as a surprise, since these two work so well together, that the married couple started their own production company. Called Milojo Productions (a name that combines portions of all their kid's names) the company was created in 2007 and produces documentaries and other films. In fact, news broke recently that the company is teaming up with Lifetime to produce two true-crime movies that will premiere in 2021.

10. Apparently, she has tattoos

We were actually surprised to learn that the actress has a total of three tattoos, according to Housely. Per the outlet, the first (a mix of flowers and hearts) is located on the side of her ankle while the second (her husband’s last name) is placed on her wrist. The third is more of a mystery.

11. She uses her family group text to schedule weekly time together

During an exclusive interview with PureWow, Ripa revealed how important family time is for her.

“It’s a little different now that my kids are older, but I would always carve out time,” Ripa said. “I would schedule family time the way I would schedule a photoshoot or work meetings because it doesn’t necessarily happen organically, especially if you have three kids and they’re involved in different things and sports and school. For me, I just find that the more that I can put on paper—well, now it’s all done by text—and say, ‘Hey guys, Sunday dinner at the house. I’m making spaghetti and meatballs. Who’s coming?’ And that way we make sure we still see each other and still check-in and get to hang out as a family.” How relatable.

12. And she’s not afraid to embarrass her children on social media

The 49-year-old is no stranger to posting on Instagram, including thirst traps and flirty photos with her hubby. Of course, her daughter Lola had something to say about her parents' PDA: “Repulsive.” So, during an interview with the Live with Kelly and Ryan co-host, we asked her about it.

“Well, Lola finds us to be repulsive as she’s probably stated on numerous occasions,” said Ripa. “I don’t necessarily disagree with her. I believe that I found my parents equally as repulsive when I was her age. Only we didn’t have the benefit of having social media in those days so who knows if our parents were repulsive? We could only scream it at night into our pillows.”

Now, we’re definitely experts.

Alexandra Hough

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