For those of you who don’t believe in love at first sight, Kelly Ripa has a little story for you – one that just might change your mind. The 47-year-old host of Live with Kelly and Ryan sat down for an interview with Bruce Bozzi for SiriusXM. During the interview, Kelly recalled the first time she saw her spouse of 22 years, actor Mark Consuelos. She revealed that “I saw my husband in a photograph before I saw him. I knew when I saw his photograph.”
Back in the early 1990s, Kelly was an actress on All My Children, playing Hayley Vaughn, and was assisting the casting director with finding the actor to play her on-screen suitor, Mateo Santos. Apparently the casting process was proving difficult and the show “had auditioned every Latino actor in the city and around the city and then California. And then all of a sudden, Judy Blye Wilson, who was the casting director at All My Children, said, ‘I found him.’” She went on to explain:
“[Judy] showed me his picture and, Bruce, I’m not this person, at that point I was not a hopeless romantic. I never thought about getting married, it never occurred to me that I would grow old with someone. I just thought I would be living my single girl life in the city and sort of like moving. You know, if I needed to up and move to a location, I could do that. I had no responsibilities and I was earning a good living on this soap opera because I was there for almost seven years before Mark got there. … I was a baby when I got the job.”
“When I saw him, the photograph of him, I saw my entire future with him flash before — like I saw it,” said Ripa. “And I don’t believe in any of that and now I do because of that moment.”
[From Lunch with Bruce via PEOPLE]
Obviously, Mark got the part, the couple romanced each other on and off screen and were wed in 1996. They now have three children — sons Michael, 21, and Joaquin, 15, and daughter Lola, 17.
That’s quite a romantic yarn, isn’t it? With filters and catfishing, it would be hard for anyone in the online dating age to fall in love with a photograph. I’ve had many first and last dates with men who had great photos, but didn’t match those with looks or personality. Fortunately, the last one looked just like his pictures, and I can only hope our relationship will be as strong as Kelly and Mark’s.
Photos: Instagram, Getty, WENN
I felt the same way when I 1st saw my husband but what sealed it for me was when he introduced himself to me and I heard his name, instantly I knew that name would have huge significance in my future. I can’t explain it but it happened….
That’s really sweet and I believe it. She usually gets on my nerves with her love for him but that’s a cute story.
This is going to sound ridiculous and I can’t believe I’m going to type it….but I swear the thought “he’s going to change my life” flashed across my mind when I saw a MySpace(lol) picture of my daughters dad the first time. I instantly thought I was silly for even thinking that but he did change my entire life, by giving me a daughter and being so verbally abusive during my pregnancy, I changed so much after that experience.
I dunno, I think we all have this mental chatter and intuition that comes in at random and if you learn to listen to it it can tell you things sometimes!
Jess, he was verbally abusive during your pregnancy??? I hope you kicked him to the curb. You always seem so happy and grounded, the SOB. I’m glad you have your daughter, but you deserve better than someone who sounds so heartless. I told my sister when I met my husband, I was going to marry him. I was very young and she thought I was a hopeless romantic and nuts! But 19 years later, he’s still the one.
Awe thank you❤️ Yes he was very abusive and not there for me or her, it really changed who I was and changed my outlook on things. I feel like a completely different person before and after that, almost like it happened to someone less. But, it did teach me to stand up for myself and not take any shit😄 I found and married a great guy a few years ago!
You know Jess, sometimes there are those wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing that fool us (shh….I’ve even been fooled by a couple on this site!). But, because of your strength, you did learn lessons and you have your daughter. Life has a way of catching up to the asshats like your first husband. You managed to keep such a positive attitude. You are definitely a happy, peppy person, which I always wished I was. But, I digress! Glad the man you were meant to be with found you and you are treated with the respect you deserve, we all deserve respect.
Thank you Nancy, that’s so sweet of you to say!! I promise I’m not always happy though, I have my moments, lol.
I saw my first husband from across the cliched crowded room and knew he would be the one. and he was, until he passed away. My second husband I saw playing a charity softball game and got similar feelings. Like I knew he would somehow matter in my life. And there is really nothing “hopeless romantic” about me. I’m very pragmatic.
I totally get that. When I saw my now husband for the first time, I turned to my sister and said “ I’m going to spend the rest of my life with this guy”, it was this inexplicable feeling of “ there you are!”…. will be 27 years tomorrow.
I always say I am not a romantic except for this one instance haha.
Ha! Scarlett, you have more time together, but our stories sound the same! You have to tell your sister first! My sister is my twin, so it was a given❤ Happy Anniversary!
I get that…shoot, I knew my guy was the “One” the minute I saw his face…it was if he had stepped out of the dreams that I had been dreaming…since I was a child…and when we started talking and we realized that we grew up in the same inner-city neighborhood…even though we met in the suburbs…
I knew I had found home…
I love these stories, guys. Please keep sharing!
Right. Sometimes, I read something and wish I could like it, but we’re not on FB….which is probably a good thing!
I dropped out of college when I was 18 to be a bartender and see what “real life” was all about. One day a horn dog would not quit touching me and trying to get me to leave with him so I said “look, my boyfriend is here and doesn’t like guys touching me so cut it out before he gets mad.” Drunk guy wasn’t buying it and wouldn’t quit so I casually walked to the other end of the bar picked the biggest most decent looking guy I could find, took him by the collar and laid one on him with no explanation. This guy was so cool he just smiled and leaned back with a wink like that kind of thing happened to him everyday. Well drunk guy bought it and left and suave guy and I just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary a few months ago.
Love this!!!
I first saw my bf in the parking lot, thought about him nonstop as I walked around the grocery store, then noticed him at the end of the aisle, and the second we started a conversation, I was madly in love. He told me first, that he saw me, looked around for me, and fell in love. I didn’t tell him the same happened to me until he said it, because I was shocked that love at first sight was real. 2 years so far, and I’m so happy I went to the store that day
I love this! I always wonder when people say we met in a park or the grocery store or in line at the post office. I never speak to anyone when I’m out and about so I’m glad to hear this actually happens to people!
Amelie, I’m posting too much like usual but am housebound! I speak to everyone when I’m out. I met my husband at the beach (21 yrs ago). It was evening and my sister and I were just talking. We heard a loud “boom box.” As it turned out, it was his cousin! We got to talking….funny thing in school I was the one who sat quietly and never raised my hand. We’re all different. (I forget to say he has Paul Newman blue eyes). That was the deal breaker!
The final time I saw her before she died, my grandmother asked me, “How is (Husband’s name)?” referring to my long term boyfriend. They both have extremely unusual names and it would be impossible to mix them up. There’s also very little chance she knew anyone by my husband’s name – just a random glitch in her thinking. I met my husband a few months later.
This gave me chills!
Fate. LOVE your story, love your grandma!
I remember Mateo and Haley, and then Mark and Kelly, it was so cute then and I’m amazed now they’ve stayed together and seem so happy. It’s a really sweet love story.
They really are a good looking couple.
A male friend of mine decided that a friend of his wife was a great match for me. He connected us via fb message. I had that feeling when I saw his pictures. I fell in love. We were married five months later. He’s a kind and committed husband and we’ll be married four years this fall. ♥️
I thought my husband was annoying as hell when I first saw him! I couldn’t stand him and he couldn’t stand me. Flash forward 19 years and here we still are! I guess it happens in many different ways!
The first time I met my partner, he was a drunk and loud (we were in our twenties at a bar with a group of friends). I thought he was funny and interesting, but super-obnoxious. Anytime anyone brought him up, I’d be like “you mean the annoying, drunk frat-bro guy?”. The first time I hung out with him sober, I fell in love with him immediately. Now we’re in our thirties and drink very rarely, so it’s all good 😉
I don’t have a romantic story either. I met my husband in a bar and he had actually been hitting on my friends before I got there. I wouldn’t say it was love at first sight, but we did start spending a lot of time together pretty quickly. He cheated on me with his ex early in our relationship and it shattered me because by that point I already just felt that we were meant to be together and I didn’t understand how he didn’t realize that too. We’ve had our ups and downs but 10 years later (married for 4) our relationship is strong and I wake up every day thankful that I’m married to my best friend.
Sometimes we don’t have a ‘perfect love story’ and that’s ok too.
A friend showed me a photo of his cousin, and I had an instant flash of “this is the man I’m going to marry.” Twenty six years later-we’re still happily married.
I met my now husband at a wedding. We were dancing, and for a moment I looked into his eyes. Instantly I had this intense feeling of “this man is going to be my husband”, it was like nothing I’ve ever felt before. We had only met 3 minutes earlier. We just celebrated our 5th anniversary. So, I believe her!
I was the queen of canceling plans, so the day I was supposed to meet this guy for dinner, I sat at my computer with a blank email in front of me, trying to come up with a good excuse. I typed a few different reasons why I couldn’t go, but suddenly, this woman’s voice whispered to me, “Just go.” I always thought it was my grandma, who passed away years ago.
I deleted the email and met him that night, and that was it. 6 years later, I love him more than I ever knew I could.
“He’s your lobster!”
~Phoebe (Friends – referring to Ross and Rachel) 😊
Whenever I see a photo of Aidan Gillen, I think “He’s the one…” Can anyone let him know?
@Chlo – laughing so hard here🙂🙂🙂. Aidan Gillen is definitely on my ‘list’. And so are Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Alex Skarsgard, Alex Turner, Adam Driver… I’m just full of love like that.
I was with someone when a friend introduced me to one of her clients, and he was not my type, but something was in the air, sparks, some kind of magic. We only had exchanged a few words but as soon as he heard that I had broken up with the guy I was with at the time, he contacted me and we spent 6 great years together. It’s all gone now but I still think of that very moment fondly. I hope it happens again.
Oh my goodness, these stories are amazing. Makes me fee like maybe my husband isn’t the one since I never experienced the same sort of psychic intuition, lol.
Anyway, I’ll always have a soft spot for these two as a longtime AMC watcher. They seem sweet and solid and her IG caption about him being a human roller coaster cracked me up. Woof.
I’m a thirty-something and can honestly say I have never felt that. I’ve been in serious relationships & thought a guy was cute and/or sweet & would like to know them better but never just looked at them & “knew” or thought yeah, he’s the one. Might explain why I’m single…but I won’t pretend to have had those or will ever claim to have those if it’s never, or may never happen. Eh. It’s cute to hear about I guess
Im with you on that one! Had a boyfriend ask me to marry him when i was in my early twenties and just went eeeep! No not feeling it ! Single mid thirties now and never felt like “this is the person i want to be with forever “. BUT! Very happy now anyways because I finally quit facebook and no longer have to see my exes with their new girlfriends/ wives etc. Im ok with being single for the first time in years. Very liberating 🙂
Add a seat for me on the bus! I’ve never been in love but I love hearing stories like this. And I love being single, no children. The feeling of personal freedom is intoxicating. I have a very deep and profound love for myself exactly as I am and just enough room in my heart and soul to welcome the right person if that is what the universe has in store for me.
With my husband, (10 years now) it wasn’t a flash of knowing, it was more like an almost instant familiarity. It felt like I’d known him forever even when we’d just met.
It’s not just with partners either, I felt the same way when I first met my best friend of 24 years. I felt so comfortable with her immediately, like old friends.
The best one was when my youngest daughter was born. I looked at her face and it felt like I was in the twilight zone because I could’ve sworn I already seen that face and knew her before a long time ago.
My first husband and I met at work. For 3 years he made it very clear he was very interested. But I wasn’t. I found him to be obnoxious, for real. Then one night I went to an office happy hour, and we danced all night. At one point we started kissing on the dance floor, and neither of us felt as if anyone else was around, even though the entire office was staring at us. The second we kissed, something happened to me that never happened before, or since. I had an overwhelming feeling wash over me that I had kissed him a million times before, and would kiss him a million times again. We lasted 10 years, and split for very private reasons I won’t get into. No third party involved. It was painful. I don’t believe it will ever happen to me again, though I’ve certainly had serious love affairs since. That was once in a lifetime. But, I’m glad I had it.
I had a moment like that with my college boyfriend. We had been good friends for a year or so when we realized we liked each other romantically. I will never forget our first kiss. It was like the entire world stopped when our lips touched and nothing else was around. I had been in a long term relationship before that and several after but I have never felt anything like that again, even with my husband. Our relationship only lasted a year and a half, but it was one of the most pure loves I’ve ever felt and I’m glad I experienced it.
I had that feeling once – he had it too, the night we met. I loved that – it didn’t last forever but I am so glad I was fortunate enough to experience it and hope that I will again.
Beautiful
I met my husband 21 years ago, and was instantly attracted, but on our first date, while he treated me kindly, I found out he didn’t have all the external “stuff” I was used to from prior (horrible) relationships. he was kind, deferential, nervous, paid the check, didn’t have perfect clothes, had a crappy car, and didn’t act like an entitled asshole. In other words–a nice guy. So, being used to pursuing unavailable jerks, I jumped out of the car after the date without giving him my number. The moment i walked in the door of my apartment, I literally fell on my knees and started sobbing. I can remember it as if it were yesterday. I knew I had a chance to change my life and I had blown it. So I called a friend and said “I think I just made the biggest mistake of my life. This guy is a wonderful guy, and I just blew him off.” Thankfully I had another chance when I saw him once more — I told myself “If I don’t ask him out I will regret it the rest of my life,” and even though I was scared, and he seemed hurt by my prior rejection, I gave him my card, and asked him to call me …and fell madly in love on our second date and we have been together since. I always tell women who are blind dating: “Give it a second chance if he is a good person. You just may not be used to having that in your life.” I am so glad I had that second chance.
Aw these stories warm my cold cold heart. Lovely stories!
lol, right!
I used to judge men based on their looks alone. So when I first met in person a sweet & funny online match, my heart sank a bit because he was a lil heavier than his photo. But this voice pops in my head telling to stop giving in to my fickle heart & give this guy a chance. The moment he opened his mouth to say How are you, my knees went weak hearing this unbelievably deep, sexy drawl. It’s going to be our 13th wedding anniversary next September, and I still insist of long phone calls with my husband instead of texts 😉
Saw my hubby eHarmony and knew he was it! His profile picture was of him at a castle in Ireland, in the exact same spot I stood years before in college. It was one of my favorite vacations as was his. We’re both from the northern USA. Best Ah-ha moment I’ve had:)
If you look up a interview with Christie Turlington and Letterman, he asks her how Edward is and she corrects him with another name. She was with Edward Burns years later!!!!
My mom and I always used to meet for lunch every Friday at a family run diner located between our two offices. One Friday in January, 1984, as we were preparing to order, a gorgeous guy in a Navy flight suit with a deep tan went by our table, definitely catching my eye. Just then, the owner of the diner, Betty, came to the table and asked my mom, “What can I get for you today, Sue?” To which my mom replied, “Twin grandsons that look just like him”. To which Betty replied, “No problem! That’s my son, he actually is a twin, so I think that’s a definite possibility!” I thought nothing more of it until later that day when he came into the bank where I worked to make the diner’s daily deposit and actually did ask me out on a date~ and we were married a year later! That was 35 years ago. We never got twins, but our “arranged marriage” did give us two beautiful kids and and more happiness than we ever imagined!
I met my husband at our college newspaper newsroom. I came for an interview and brought along my long time on-again off-again boyfriend. The minute I saw this new guy I just knew. He was chatty, fun, smart, gregarious, sincere, everything the other guy wasn’t. That was 42 years ago.
minx, where have you been? I love your story ❤, 42 years is longer than I’ve been alive! Congrats to you and your husband. I’m glad this thread became our personal stories. Happy Weekend to you and anybody else who sees this!
Hi Nancy, I’ve been back at work (new school year!). Take care.
I love reading everyone’s stories!! I’m a hopeless romantic and absolutely adore hearing stories like this
I remember very clearly the first time I laid eyes on my husband. I saw him across a classroom (night school, we were both in our mid-20s), and I just took instant, immediate notice of everything about him. Like, he *landed* in my consciousness with a big THUMP. And he sat next to me that day, and we interacted a little but not really. We didn’t speak to each other until the class was halfway over, then we started spending the mid-class breaks together going to the coffee house on campus. Then, at the last class, he asked me out in the most romantic way. That was 20 years ago.
To be fair, does everyone not feel that way when they see a photo of Mark Consuelos?
I am a sucker for a good love story, even though I “hide” it with a practical, upfront exterior, lol. Yea when I met my husband, he was 18, I was almost 20, and I just knew that he was someone special- but we interacted only a little bit, even though we’d both look at each other across the room (this was all at a wedding and lead/up to the wedding). Yet I couldn’t get him out of my mind. I re-met him again about a year later at a party, instantly clicked and began talking as if we had been great friends for a long time and have loved each other since 🙂
He told me later that he had a crush on me since he was 14 years old, as I had known his sister back then. I hadn’t even noticed him then!
Long time reader, first time commenter 🙂 Love these love stories but I have an unusual one, perhaps I will be judged for it.. Who knows?
I met my boyfriend at a book club and yes, he was the only guy but we had an immediate connection. We stayed friends for 3 years and recently embarked on a relationship. It will be 2 years this December. The only catch is, he is married (although separated). I know it would make me seem like a terrible person but we do seem like soulmates. We knew from the moment we laid eyes on each other, this had to work in some way. He is older than me but we have this amazing connection and he helps me out so much – whether it be with my son or my mother or whatever else I have going on at the moment. His kids also know (they’re much older than my kid) and have their own lives going on. They are quite nice to me and we make nice each time we have met. I am sure his wife knows but she chooses to ignore. Sigh.. sometimes life throws curveballs and we have to figure it out.
I hate to wish that on anyone but I am a decent person, I promise. I was in an abusive marriage for a while, my son is only now recovering from the damage and this man makes me feel like the luckiest guy in the world each and every day. I do wish and have told him I wish he could make things work with her but if it doesn’t, I can’t force him to. But it will take its course and no, I am in no rush either. I have my own commitments and things to work out on my own.
Sometimes love is a strange thing… it hits you when you least expect it and with someone you least expect. I only hope I have a happy ending and we all get along.