Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos Discuss Being 'Wrestling Parents': 'We Don't Know Anything'

The couple shared their experience visiting their son Joaquin, who goes to the University of Michigan for wrestling

Kelly Ripa, husband Mark Consuelos, Joaquin Consuelos
Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos got candid about their experience visiting their son Joaquin at college.

On Wednesday's episode of Live with Kelly and Ryan — during which Consuelos appeared as guest co-host — the couple shared funny moments from watching their 18-year-old son in action during their trip to the University of Michigan, where he is in the wrestling program.

"So Mark and I have been on a whirlwind tour. We were in Michigan last night, and here we are back home, just in time to do this show," Ripa said.

Consuelos explained they went to an event called "Mock Rock," which was created in 1999 as a tribute to Michigan wrestler Jeff Reese, who died while training for a meet. According to the athletic department's website, the event supports Michigan Athletics and showcases student athlete talents.

Consuelos said that "they have all the sports teams" there, "usually the underclassmen — the freshman — because the other guys are doing important stuff." He added, "I'd been up there for most of the wrestling tournaments, which had been great. It's so fun to watch."

Mark Consuelos,Joaquin Consuelos
Edward Opi / SplashNews.com

Ripa quickly chimed in and called Consuelos "a stage dad" while he was telling the story, although the actor later confessed, "I don't know what they're doing; I have no idea what they're doing."

"We're such good wrestling parents that we just say whatever the parents sitting by us are saying," Ripa added. Consuelos agreed to his wife's statement, saying, "We don't know anything!"

"Stalling! Like, what does that mean?" he continued, describing the hilarious moment while watching their son's game.

Consuelos told the audience the match they attended was "a talent contest," with the proceeds going to the Jeff Reese Endowed Scholarship.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free weekly newsletter to get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday.

The pair also joked about how they ended up becoming sports parents even though they initially planned not to get their children "in sports" after watching parents move "across the country to support their kids" during the Olympics.

"Let's not encourage athletics. Cut to, here we are in Ann Arbor," Ripa quipped.

Last September, the mother of three opened up on her show about dropping her youngest child, Joaquin, off at college, sharing, "It was hard. It was really hard."

"It's one of those things where you can never be ready," Ripa said. "We've done it before, but the other two, they stayed in New York, so we knew they were there, even though their visits weren't as frequent as we thought."

Ripa and Consuelos have been married since May 1996 after meeting each other on the set of All My Children in 1995. The duo share three children — Michael, 24, Lola, 20, and Joaquin. Lola is currently studying at NYU, while Michael graduated virtually from Tisch School of Arts in May 2020.

Updated by
Dave Quinn
Dave Quinn

Dave Quinn is a Senior Editor for PEOPLE. He has been working at the brand since 2016, and is the author of the No. 1 New York Times best-selling book, Not All Diamonds and Rosé: The Inside Story of the Real Housewives from the People Who Lived It.

You Might Like
Comments
All comments are subject to our Community Guidelines. PEOPLE does not endorse the opinions and views shared by readers in our comment sections.

Related Articles