Kelly Ripa Reveals She Has a Favorite Child

Kelly Ripa’s parenting secret is keeping her three kids on their toes! The Live with Kelly and Ryan host spoke candidly about her kids as husband Mark Consuelos filled in for Ryan Seacrest during Wednesday’s episode of the daytime talk show. During the conversation, Ripa admitted to having a favorite child but wouldn’t disclose if it was oldest son Michael, 24, daughter Lola, 20, or youngest son Joaquin.

“I have a favorite child and I have a favorite dog but they don’t know who they are. As a matter of fact, each one of my kids accuses the other child of being my favorite. Constantly,” Ripa explained. “They’re like, ‘Well, you’re Mom’s favorite.’ ‘No, you are.’ ‘No, you are!’ And that’s the best game to play, isn’t it? You never know who is going to benefit at the reading of the will.” 

Consuelos agreed, joking, “None of them,” before making reference to HBO’s hit show Succession. “They get nothing. They get zero. You have to make your own pile!” Ripa replied, “Make your own pile, that’s right. You make your own pile, says [Succession character] Logan Roy, our fearless leader. Though he said several expletives that we can’t say on TV.”

She continued, “But Mark can’t not indicate who his favorite is. The dogs know who Mark’s favorite is and the kids know who Mark’s favorite is.” Consuelos protested, “I don’t have a favorite child,” to which his wife responded, “Oh please!” Despite that, the Riverdale actor maintained he doesn’t have a human number one, but he does play favorites with the canine members of the family.

“I don’t! But I do have a favorite dog, I do. Now that Chewie’s not listening to the show right now, I can say I love Chewie but I really, really love Lena,” Consuelos said. When Ripa pointed out that the older pup “can’t hear anything anymore,” Consuelos explained, “It’s just that Lena’s cuddlier. She lets you cuddle her.”

Ripa and Consuelos marked their 25th wedding anniversary in May after first meeting on the set of All My Children. Tying the knot in 1996, the two have gone on to become one of Hollywood’s biggest couples, and never miss a chance to poke fun at one another or share a steamy photo of their partner. “I’ll be loving you until the rainbow burns the stars out in the sky…always,” Consuelos wrote on Instagram alongside photos with Ripa in honor of their milestone anniversary. “Sobbing. I love you so very much,” Ripa responded. “Some of these pics are never before seen. As in, I’ve never seen them before.”