Inside Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos’ On-Air Tension: A Day of Drama Unfolds

During Wednesday’s episode of “Live with Kelly and Mark,” co-hosts Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos engaged in a lively exchange that caught viewers’ attention.

Their playful debate kicked off when Ripa suggested the idea of an “airport divorce,” a humorous term she used to describe the scenario where couples part ways upon arriving at the airport and only reunite when it’s time to board the plane.

Ripa elaborated to the audience, pointing out the stark contrast in her and her husband’s travel habits. She hinted that Consuelos tends to be more meticulous about travel arrangements compared to her more laid-back approach.

In a light-hearted jab, Ripa exaggerated by saying Consuelos prefers to arrive at the airport “4 to 16 hours” in advance, highlighting their differing travel styles.

Addressing the exaggeration, the “Riverdale” star clarified with a smile that he actually prefers arriving about an hour and a half before a flight, which aligns with common travel practices.

The tension got even more heated when Consuelos appeared to get upset after Ripa said he gets irritated when fans approach them at the airport.

“I don’t say that, don’t put that out there,” he told her. “I’m very nice to people. That’s not cool.”

Consuelos, 54, bluntly told his wife that he was angry at her for throwing him under the bus with the story, but Ripa, 55, continued with another tale about him once getting annoyed at her while in line at the airport.

According to Ripa, his TSA PreCheck expired and she was considerate enough to join him at the standard check-in line. He allegedly still got irritated at her, however, over the line being too slow.

Consuelos argued that his perspective of the incident was different and that the disagreement was really about her not following which line he wanted to go through.

He also quipped, “I’d like to hear more about this airport divorce,” to which Ripa replied, “Well, we’re definitely getting one now.”

The couple continued to get testy with one another over another hot topic, when they discussed a report about washing cars. After Ripa admitted she hardly ever drives — and believes that whoever gets the car dirty is responsible for washing the car — Consuelos called her out for putting her bare feet on the dashboard when she’s a passenger.

“I’m staring at your toe prints when you’re not there,” he said. “I see toe prints on the windshield.”

Consuelos later commented about their tense back and forth exchanges on Wednesday, “We’re having a day today.”

The couple has been married for 29 years, and Ripa has been open about her and Consuelos’ disagreements.

The mother of three acknowledged there have been times the two “let something small” come between them in a 2023 interview with People, but they ultimately put their “heads down, got together and said, ‘Let’s work it out.’”

“We’re not afraid to go there,” she told the outlet. “We have the confidence in our marriage that no matter what we discuss, I don’t mind being the villain in the argument, nor does Mark. Neither one of us needs to be the hero.”