Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos.Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty
Kelly Ripais footloose and earning a “fancy” fee now.
TheLiveco-host hasopened upabout earning less thanMark Consueloswhen they were costars onAll My Children.
“He was paid far more than I was paid. Always,” Ripa, 52, said of Consuelos, 51, in her cover story interview forVariety’s The Power of Woman Issue. “And he started years after I started. It wasn’t until I got what we call my ‘fancy job’ that I started actually earning more money than him.”
And though Ripa upped her earnings with theLivegig, the pay disparity continued on that show as well. For her part, Ripa said she doesn’t “blame the fellas” she hosted with — including late former co-hostRegis Philbin; instead, she believes that “the network had a duty and an obligation to keep all things equal.”
“[My male co-hosts] were just doing what they had been told, or what they were instructed to do, orwhat they thought they deserved,” she said. “Having said that, I go out of my way to protect the people I’m working with at any and all costs, even if it means that I am not as popular.”
Ann Limongello/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty; Eugene Gologursky/Getty for Haute Living
Ripa says she finally started earning a salary she deemed fair when her bosses at ABC realized her contract was up and that she could leave the show.
“I don’t think they wanted to pay me,” she said. “I think they had to pay me.”
She continued, “I was trying to walk out the door and close it behind me. And I think they really figured out rapidly that they had screwed up in a major way, and it was not a good look. I think that was really the impetus behind paying me fairly. They had no choice.”
Ripa and Consuelous met on theAll My Childrenset when she played Hayley Vaughan and he portrayed Mateo Santos. Their working relationship quickly turned romantic, and they got married in 1996.
They’re now parents to three kids:Michael, 25,Lola, 21, andJoaquin, 20.
As for their professional lives, Consuelos is joining Ripa onLiveasRyan Seacrest’s replacement,beginning April 17. “This is going to be amazing!” theRiverdaleactor wrote on Instagram,reactingto the news. “I can’t believe after all these years of listening to you talk for free, I found a way to get paid for it. Is this a great country or what? ❤️”
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Live with Kelly and Ryanairs weekdays (check local listings).
source: people.com
