Kelly Ripa And Mark Consuelos Reveal Secret To 29 Year Marriage While Owning Soccer Team

Instagram/@instasuelos

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos are striking an orange against the saying that marriage and soccer ownership have little in common. The daytime administration couple, now in their twenty-ninth year of marriage, finally opened up about their new adventure: owning an Italian soccer team, Campobasso, for ESPN’s new series Running With The Wolves. And if you thought running the talk show was hard, running an underdog soccer club in the Italian third division is a whole lot more.

Advertisement

“Well running a football club,” Mark offered when asked which was harder: marriage or managing a sport. Kelly agreed but then added, “There’s so many French benefits of being married for 29 years.” French benefits? We can only assume that Kelly meant to say ‘fringe benefits,’ but it spurred a delightfully adorable moment between the longtime partners.

The couple, who met on the set of All My Children in 1995, say their soccer project could be a reality precisely because they are empty nesters right now; Linda said, “We wouldn’t have been able to do it 10 years ago. We were so ensconced in the day to day of seeing our children through to fulfill their dreams.” Going ensconced really stuck with one commenter who jokingly said, “Kelly, you had me at ‘ensconced.’”

All of the couple’s three children, Michael, Lola and Joaquin, are artists, which Mark finds funny. “I don’t know why they all went into the family business. I thought we made it pretty difficult.” Kelly disagreed: “I think we made it fun.” Now, their daughter Lola is leading the way in the family’s newfound soccer passion, stating that “this is essentially my team.”

Going all the way with their immersion into the Italian soccer culture, and with Mark pulling from his childhood experiences playing soccer in Italy, “Per favore, las chame manjaré, part,” he joked in a blend of Italian and Spanish, to Kelly’s laughter. But don’t mistake this as simply a celebrity vanity project; they really want to build up Campobasso, the team from Mark’s Italian heritage.

When asked about his secret to nearly 30 years of marriage, Kelly offered what might just be the finest advice ever given about marriage: “We really like each other. We love each other obviously, but we really like each other.” One follower was deeply grateful for the response and said, “Best quote! That is the foundation of an amazing, healthy, long-lasting relationship!”

The comparisons to Ted Lasso and Ryan Reynolds’ Welcome to Wrexham were brought up by a journalist, but Kelly quickly squashed it, “You’re giving me way too much credit because I’m like, if she had, if she really had no power at all.” She then revealed a heartwarming secret about Mark, saying, “Don’t tell anyone I said this, but Mark is good at everything.” Well, now the cat is out of the bag!

Undercutting the lighthearted tone, however, was the grim reality of the true challenge they face. “Making decisions that you know will have consequences two or three years down the line with players and with contracts,” Mark said was the hardest part. Kelly then chimed in on building trust with skeptical supporters: “This American ownership group comes into a small town in Italy that they’ve been burned so many times.”

Then some lovely moments: falling in love with groundskeeper Go Frado. “I am in love with Go Frado,” Kelly gushed. “Seeing his passion and seeing how devoted he is is awe-inspiring to me.” That association for appreciating talent struck a chord with one viewer who said, “Kelly used the word privilege to bear witness to Mark’s gifts… that word most days to have awareness of meeting people.”

Advertisement

For all of their accomplishments – seven Daytime Emmys for Kelly, acting gigs for Mark, raising three fabulous kids – what truly shines is how much they enjoy their life together as they embark on this new venture. As one fan perfectly summed it up, “This couple keeps on getting better with age and togetherness.” Whether on stage or on the soccer field, Kelly and Mark continue scoring goals in both marriage and life.