Kelly Ripa’s Worrisome Absence From ‘Live’ Explained by Mark Consuelos

Kelly Ripa had to recover from a bout of laryngitis before making her return to Live With Kelly and Mark on Dec. 4. Ripa’s husband and co-star Mark Consuelos announced on the Nov. 29 episode of Live that his wife had come down with a bad case of laryngitis, resulting in her absence. Filling Ripa’s spot as she recovered was Déjà Vu Parker, the announcer for Live.

“Yesterday you could tell she was losing her voice a little bit,” Consuelos said on Dec. 4 of Ripa’s absence. “It’s gone, it’s lost.” Parker then asked if Ripa, 53, was feeling alright, to which Consuelos replied, “Yeah, she’s gonna feel better. She’s just resting a little bit.” He then added, “I’m sure she’ll feel better soon.” Parker also wondered what Consuelos, 52, does at home to protect himself from getting sick when his wife is under the weather, to which the Riverdale star quipped, “Uh, I go to the basement!” Consuelos then added more seriously that he is “quarantining” from Ripa so he “didn’t get the laryngitis,” but assured audiences that she will “feel better soon.”

Consuelos and Parker went on to discuss trending topics, including Mark Cuban reportedly selling the Dallas Maverick and the start of basketball season, before interviewing illusionist David Blaine and comedian Sebastian Maniscalco. Ripa even made an unexpected cameo on the show when they played a 2006 clip of her participating in one of Blaine’s performances.

Ripa and Consuelos have been co-hosting Live together since April after the Hope & Faith alum’s longtime co-star, Ryan Seacrest, left the show. “This show today truly felt like home,” Consuelos told Us Weekly at the time. “I always feel at home with Kelly but [working] together this morning just felt so right.” The actor continued, “Kelly and I have always [felt] the most [at] ease when we’re together and I feel so lucky we get to do that daily.”

Ripa agreed that her husband joining her on the show was a “best-case scenario,” telling PEOPLE, “It’s great for me because he’s my favorite person to be around, so spending time with him every day here is kind of the best-case scenario for me. Even the getting ready part – we’ll take a car in together or walk here, which will be so nice.”