On Friday’s episode of Live with Kelly and Mark, Kelly Ripa humorously hinted that she might need to keep her husband, Mark Consuelos, at a distance from one of her cherished hobbies.
Ripa, who has grown passionate about playing mahjong, enthusiastically shared the numerous “mental health benefits” the game offers, beginning with “connection and emotional wellbeing.”
She playfully elaborated, “It’s about community and belonging. It’s social and promotes mindfulness. It even helps with emotional regulation—every time I manage not to scream when someone else wins at mahjong, that’s a win for me,” Ripa joked. “The game fosters cultural engagement, reduces stress, and encourages a flow state for your brain.”
Mark Consuelos chimed in, pointing out an additional benefit: “You put your phone away.”
Ripa agreed, emphasizing the game’s strategic nature and mentioning its “tremendous emotional, mental, and social benefits.”
Consuelos acknowledged his wife and co-host’s love of mahjong, telling Ripa he thinks “it’s great” for her. Ripa felt that she has something to learn from the game “win or lose,” which means she’s “happy” no matter what.
“And at the end of the day… you have to be lucky,” she clarified, before citing its other benefits. “It’s also intergenerational relationships. So it’s older people playing with younger people, it’s men playing with women, it’s everything. And it’s great for your brain.”
While Consuelos insisted that he “will try” to play mahjong “this summer,” Ripa shared her reservations about him picking up mahjong, claiming that he “will become unstoppable.”
“You’re very competitive, and also you’re very good at tile games So I think that once you play this — the best tile game of them all — you will be insufferable. So maybe I won’t teach you,” she quipped. “But I think you’ll be very good at it.”
After Ripa received a round of applause from the studio audience, Consuelos inquired as to whether there’s “any smack talk during the game.” Ripa told him that “it depends on who you play with,” noting that she and her friend Nancy “smack talk a lot” when they play.
“We smack talk,” she explained. “We’re relegated to our own table. Like, we have our own table, and the people that can handle the smack talk sit with us. And if they can’t, they leave.”
Live with Kelly and Mark airs on weekdays. Check out their website for your local listings.
(function(d, s, id) {
var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
if (d.getElementById(id)) return;
js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&appId=823934954307605&version=v2.8”;
fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));