Kelly Ripa and long-time hubby Mark Consuelos of 26 years have settled in as empty nesters now that their three kids (sons Michael Joseph, 25, Joaquin Antonio, 19, and their daughter Lola Grace, 21) are all grown up and have moved out of the family home.
In a 2021 episode of Live With Kelly and Ryan, the mom of three opened up about life with the kids no longer around after her youngest went off to college that fall. Reminiscing on a time when the kids were little, Kelly said she would give them goodnight kisses and, upon exiting the room, would return saying, "One more! One more!"
"They would squeal and scream, and it was always exciting." But, as they got older, that special ritual slowly faded away: "And then they got to be, like, 15, 16," she continued, "[and] they're like, 'It's weird!'"
Nowadays, the TV actress will take to social media to fill the void by posting throwback photos of when the kids were 'kids.' Last month, Ripa shared a 'Throwback Thursday' photo, circa 2008, of a beach trip she took with her husband Mark, the kids, and the in-laws.
In promoting her new gig on the television series Generation Gap, Kelly wrote in the caption, "#tbt 2008. A Consuelos family reminder to watch Generation Gap tonight ... Bikinis optional. We've been bridging the gap for years!"
Ripa now hosts the new quiz show Generation Gap on ABC that groups family members of different generations who must work together to answer questions about each other's generations.
It didn't take long for Kelly to roll out her own family on the show. In July, her dad Joe Ripa made a special appearance to sing a song that the contestants had to guess. Watch Joe singing Cheap Thrills by Sia here.
Kelly shared the funny moment with her 3.3 million Instagram followers. "See the breakout star of the summer, my dad Joe Ripa! #GenerationGap," she wrote on the post.
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While Kelly fills her IG page with many updated family photos of the kids, followers can expect to catch glimpses of TBT photos from time to time. In April, the LWKR host shared a photo taken in 2009 with her daughter Lola. "#tbt 2009 springtime with my teeny tiny @theyoungestyung 💕🌸🌺🌷🌼," she wrote in the caption.
A few weeks prior, son Joaquin made an Instagram feature to celebrate his 19th birthday. "Happy 19th birthday @joaquinconsuelos 💙💛 we love you sooooooo much! You will forever be my newborn. 🎉," Kelly wrote on the post of before and after photos.
Last September, Ripa also posted another cute TBT family photo with Mark and very young versions of the three kiddos heading off for their first day back to school in 2008.
"#tbt 2008 First day of school. 📚📚📚♥️♥️♥️♥️."