Kelly Ripa Avoided Eye Contact with 'Teary-Eyed' Mark Consuelos at Disney Legends Ceremony: 'Didn't Want to Be Emotional'

Mar. 15, 2025

Kelly Ripa at D23 in Anaheim, California on Aug. 11, 2024.Photo:The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company

WhenKelly Ripawas honored as a Disney Legend, the one person she didn’t look at was her husbandMark Consuelos.

While hostingLive with Kelly & MarkonTuesday, Sept. 3, Ripa, 53, recalled her experience of receiving the prestigious award from her former cohostRyan Seacrest, who departed the talk show in 2023, in Anaheim, Calif. on Sunday, Aug. 11.

“The one thing that we did that I thought was absolutely amazing was we went to Disneyland, and Kelly was presented with her Disney Legends award,” explained Consuelos, adding, “I was there watching your speech. I got teary-eyed.”

Ripa, for her part, acknowledged she’d seen Consuelos’ reaction in the audience that evening.

Mark Consuelos, Kelly Ripa and Lola Consuelos at D23 in Anaheim, California on Aug. 11, 2024.The Walt Disney Company

“I know, I looked away from you when you did. I was like, ‘Okay,’ so I just looked at [fellow Disney Legends recipient]Angela Bassettthe whole time,” she mused, adding that she “didn’t want to be emotional” with him then; otherwise, she would have been overcome with emotion, too.

“So, I just looked at Angela,” Ripa continued, sharing that Consuelos’ eyes “are very big and very expressive.” “He looks like the emoji where the eyes are filled with tears,” Ripa said.

Duringher speechat the Disney Legends ceremony, Ripa thanked Disney CEO Bob Iger for “this truly magical experience.”

“I’ve known Bob for, incidentally, 35 years, and he has not aged a day,” she quipped. “So I just want to know what ride that is.”

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos at D23 in Anaheim, California on Aug. 11, 2024.The Walt Disney Company

Ripa also expressed gratitude to all the D23 attendees, before she poked fun at her own honor.

“I know what you’re thinking. Why her? What has she ever done? She doesn’t even go here,” Ripa said. “But to you, I say, you sound just like my family.“The talk show host said later during her speech that she “owes everything” to the Walt Disney Company — both professionally and personally — given that she met her “smoking hot husband” Consuelos on the set ofAll My Children.

The mother of three then joked that the pair “made” their children — sons Michael and Joaquin, plus daughter Lola — “right backstage in the Disney labs.”

In addition to Ripa, other stars who were named Disney Legends includedMiley Cyrus,Angela Bassett, Colleen Atwood, Martha Blanding, James L. Brooks, James Cameron,Jamie Lee Curtis, Steve Ditko,Harrison Ford, Mark Henn, Frank Oz, Joe Rohde and John Williams.

Kelly Ripa at D23 in Anaheim, California on August 11, 2024.The Walt Disney Company

In a video announcing this year’s honorees, Seacrest said that it’s a chance to “celebrate people who define Disney and who have made an indelible mark on the company.”

Calling it the “highest honor the Walt Disney Company can bestow,” he added that the title is reserved for creatives who have “pushed the envelope of creativity, challenged conventional wisdom and broken the restraints of the status quo in search of new possibilities and excellence.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Live with Kelly and Markairs weekdays (check local listings).

source: people.com