Kelly Ripa Recalls Being Put in 'Janitor's Closet' and Denied an Office During First Years Co-Hosting 'Live!'

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos are officially partners on-air! The couple made their official debut asco-hosts on on Monday morning, immediately following Ryan Seacrest's departure from the daytime talk show after six seasons on Friday.Consuelos has co-hosted alongside his wife countless times over the years, but this new move makes his spot permanent. «Joining me today, and permanently, until one of us dies is Mark Consuelos!» Ripa joked at the start of the broadcast.«Wow, that was a nice reception,» Mark said, acknowledging the audience's standing ovation. Turning attention to his wife, he added, «I just want to say thank you for trusting me to be your co-pilot.»In his debut episode, the duo welcomed TLC singer Rozonda «Chilli» Thomas, and author and psychic Char Margolis as their guests.

No backing out! Mark Consuelos made his official debut as wife Kelly Ripa‘s cohost on Monday, April 17 — with a few special guests in the audience.

The start of something new. Kelly Ripa joked that retiring from Live is always on her mind as husband Mark Consuelos prepares to step in as cohost.

Elizabeth Wagmeister Senior Correspondent For more than 22 years, Kelly Ripa has had a few “TV husbands” — but today, her real-life husband, Mark Consuelos, becomes her official co-host on “Live.” Ripa and Consuelos have been married for nearly 27 years, and have worked together for their entire relationship. But they never planned for it to be that way. The couple first met in the ’90s on the soap opera “All My Children.” From the day Ripa became co-host of “Live With Regis and Kelly” in 2001, Consuelos would appear on the talk show, whether it be as a guest co-host or for a Valentine’s Day special, and America has watched their three now-adult children grow up on television. They have acted together on each other’s shows, playing lovers on the sitcom “Hope & Faith” and the CW’s “Riverdale.” And they run their own production company together, Milojo, which takes after the first two letters of their children’s names: Michael, Lola and Joaquin.

Ryan Seacrest out! The 48-year-old media personality bid farewell to on Friday, April 14 after nearly six years. Kelly Ripa's husband, Mark Consuelos, will take over as co-host beginning Monday, April, 17.For more than two decades, Ripa's ensconced herself behind the desk at — from auditioning for four months and ultimately becoming Regis Philbin's permanent co-host, to later joining forces with the likes of Michael Strahan and Seacrest.Following Philbin's departure in November 2011, there was a revolving door of guest co-hosts — from Jerry Seinfeld, Neil Patrick Harris and Michael Bublé to Seth Meyers, Mary J.

Ryan Seacrest has officially signed off from “Live”.

Ryan Seacrest is saying goodbye to Live with Kelly and Ryan.

Ryan Seacrest has officially signed off from . The 48-year-old TV personality completed his final broadcast on Friday, April 14, after six years of co-hosting with Kelly Ripa. The show will move forward on Monday with Ripa's husband, Mark Consuelos, by her side and will be rebranded as .From the moment Seacrest and Ripa stepped on the stage for Friday's broadcast — which was pre-taped on Thursday — it was clear that both were holding back tears. «Kelly just turned the corner and said, 'Am I gonna cry?' And I said, 'Maybe, because I am,'» Seacrest began, wiping his eyes.«This is a disaster.

UPDATE, with videos: In a teary, pre-taped episode of ABC’s Live With Kelly And Ryan, Ryan Seacrest and Kelly Ripa capped off Seacrest’s final episode with emotional pledges of forever love and mutual appreciation.

Saying goodbye. Ryan Seacrest got emotional while cohosting his final episode of Live With Kelly and Ryan on Friday, April 14.

Ripa told USA Today on Thursday, just after Seacrest’s big finale was taped, that his goodbye was “very, extraordinarily emotional” and the two of them would probably cry — though they vowed not to.“Like, ‘No, you’re gonna cry.’ ‘No, I’m not gonna cry. You’re gonna cry,” Ripa said. “And then we were like, ‘Nobody’s going to cry. Because if we start crying, then our parents will cry, and your sister will cry. We’re going to keep it together. We’re going to keep it professional.’”But they couldn’t even hold it together off-stage before the taping.“We were backstage waiting for Déjà (Vu Parker) to make the final announcement, and I looked at him, and we just locked eyes,” Ripa shared. “And I was like, ‘Oh my gosh! This sucks!’ And then we both started crying, and I was like, ‘No! No! We are not crying before we get out there.

Kelly Ripa revealed to ET's Rachel Smith what she said to Ryan Seacrest right before they stepped out to film his last show on . And while it wasn't anything elegant — her words! — it succinctly described exactly how she felt in the moment.ET was with Ripa and Seacrest at ABC Studios in New York City as they filmed his last show, which aired Friday, and it was undoubtedly an emotional day, especially for Seacrest, who called  home for nearly six years.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Welcome to this week’s “Just for Variety.” Mark Consuelos doesn’t mind hand-me-downs from Ryan Seacrest. Consuelos tells me he’s inheriting Seacrest’s dressing room when “Live With Kelly and Ryan” becomes “Live With Kelly and Mark” on April 17. “I’m no dummy,” Consuelos says on this week’s episode of the “Just for Variety” podcast. “Ryan is very fancy — he’s got fancy stuff.” At the same time it was announced in February that Seacrest was leaving “Live,” it was revealed that Consuelos will replace him as his wife Kelly Ripa’s co-host on the syndicated daytime talk show. “The first conversations started with like, ‘That is the worst idea ever,’”

Kelly Ripa promises there will be no funny business when her husband, Mark Consuelos, becomes her “Live” co-host.

Before Mark Consuelos joins wife Kelly Ripa as a full-time Live cohost, they’ve learned a few lessons from Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes’ messy affair scandal.

Kelly Ripa promises there will be no funny business when her husband, Mark Consuelos, becomes her co-host.On Thursday, the daytime TV host appeared on, where she answered a fan's question about her reaction to T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach's workplace romance -- as someone who is going to be working with her partner.After agreeing with host Andy Cohen that Holmes and Robach's relationship would make «compelling,» Ripa revealed that she and her husband have a plan.«Mark and I have taken a vow of chastity while we'll be working together,» she quipped. «Because I know how ABC does not like that.

Making a change. Kelly Ripa, Ryan Seacrest and Mark Consuelos have have been candid about the future of ABC’s Live as the show prepares for some big shifts.

Elizabeth Wagmeister Senior Correspondent Kelly Ripa first appeared on morning TV when she was a soap star on “All My Children.” At that time, she was being booked as a guest on “Live With Regis & Kathie Lee” by a young executive producer, Michael Gelman, who eventually helped cast her in a lead role, replacing Kathie Lee Gifford in 2001 to co-host with Regis Philbin. More than 22 years later, Ripa and Gelman are still working together every day on “Live!” which has continued on as one of the greatest successes in television history, currently reigning as the top daytime talk show in syndication. “She had that ‘wow factor’ as a guest,” Gelman tells Variety, reminiscing on when he first met a 20-something Ripa in the ’90s.

Kelly Ripa didn’t have it easy in those early days of Live!

An early career pay gap. Kelly Ripa claimed that her husband, Mark Consuelos, made more money when they worked together on All My Children — despite the fact that he joined the soap opera years after she did.