Mark Consuelos began a new professional chapter this week as he joined his wife, Kelly Ripa, as the permanent co-host of a daytime talk show.
Monday’s episode of ABC’s newly renamed “Live With Kelly and Mark” began with the couple, who married in 1996, making their entrance before a rapturous audience as Lizzo’s song “2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)” played.
“Joining me today ― and permanently, until one of us dies ― is Mark Consuelos,” quipped Ripa in her introduction.
As for Consuelos, he expressed his gratitude to Ripa and the backstage crew before adding a wink to “All My Children,” the long-running daytime soap where he and his wife first met 28 years ago.
“Thank you, America, thank you — Hayley and Mateo forever,” he said.
Watch Mark Consuelos make his “Live With Kelly and Mark” debut below.
The show’s renaming to “Live With Kelly and Mark” follows the departure of Ryan Seacrest, who co-hosted the daytime series from 2017 until last Friday. Seacrest’s plans include relocating from New York to Los Angeles, where he’ll host ABC’s “American Idol” live shows, full time.
Earlier this month, Ripa told People magazine that she anticipated a “seamless” transition between Seacrest and Consuelos, who are longtime friends.
“Nothing will really change, just the different name on the mug,” she said.
Though Consuelos’ full-time role is new, he’s popped up on the daytime series as a guest co-host, as Ripa pointed out Monday with a highlight reel of his past appearances.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published Monday, Consuelos admitted to having some doubts when ABC first approached him with the gig but vowed to “approach it one show at a time.”
“We definitely made a pros and cons list, and the pros list was just so much bigger than the cons list. The cons weren’t really cons,” he said. “We’ve done this together. We’ve worked on shows together. So, if there were any objections early on, soon we overcame them. We realized it’s not a big deal.”