Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos are one of the longest-standing couples in Hollywood. The pair married in May 1996, one year after meeting on the soap opera All My Children, and they have been together ever since.
The last few decades have been busy ones for the couple as they spent them raising their three now-adult children: Michael, 25, Lola, 21, and Joaquin, 19.
For PEOPLE's inaugural Family Issue in 2020, the Live with Kelly and Ryan host and Riverdale actor opened up about their parenting skills.
"As you get older and you learn more, that youngest kid hopefully benefits from a little bit more wisdom ... and hopefully fewer nerves," Ripa said. "I think I had definitive ideas about raising girls versus raising boys, even though I don't really believe in gender stereotyping. My sons are just as sensitive as my daughter, and my daughter is as strong as my sons."
After sending their youngest, Joaquin, off to college, the pair officially became empty nesters. Ripa called the experience "brutally painful" on an episode of Live with Kelly and Ryan and said, "It's one of those things where you can never be ready."
In August 2022, Ripa and Consuelos were happy to have their kids under one roof again, if only for a few weeks. Ripa posted a sweet photo on Instagram of all three of her kids smiling in front of a scenic background, captioned, "It sure was nice having the chickens back in the nest for a couple of weeks. Back to life…..back to reality ♥️♥️♥️🥺#summer#vibes."
"Love those chickens," Consuelos wrote in the comments.
Keep reading to learn more about Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos' three children.
Michael Consuelos, 25
Ripa and Consuelos' first child, Michael Joseph Consuelos, was born on June 2, 1997, in New York City.
For PEOPLE's 2019 Beautiful Issue, Ripa and Consuelos raved about all of their children but said of the three, Michael has the "strongest moral compass."
"He has the strongest moral compass of anyone I've ever known," Ripa told PEOPLE. "He is just such a good and decent and thoroughly kind person."
Michael graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in May 2020. Ripa celebrated the major milestone with a sweet snap on her Instagram Story.
"This kid! #NYU #2020," she captioned a picture of herself and Michael. The proud mom also posted a series of throwback photos that showed how much Michael had grown through the years. "The joy and pride you have brought our family is indescribable. I love you with all my heart," she wrote.
Ahead of his graduation, Ripa admitted on Live with Kelly and Ryan that she was disappointed Michael wouldn't get to have a traditional graduation ceremony due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"He's one of these very uniquely special kids, he's just been kind his entire life and he's such a good person, a hard worker, that I wanted some big event celebrating him," she said. "And he, in typical Michael fashion, said, 'Well, it's not a big deal. As long as I still get my degree, it's fine.' "
A year later, the family celebrated his graduation with a trip to Europe, where they were joined by their extended family. "Last year's graduation trip for our oldest son and niece was delayed long enough to become a graduation trip for the family newborns as well!" Ripa wrote alongside photos of the whole family in Italy and Greece.
Since graduating from college, Michael has followed in his father's footsteps and is now pursuing a career as an actor, writer and director. In 2021, he joined his father on the set of Riverdale, playing a younger version of his dad's character, Hiram Lodge.
"Working on Riverdale was a bucket list moment for me," Michael told PEOPLE. "I immediately felt welcomed by the amazing cast and crew and am grateful for this wonderful opportunity to continue to learn and grow as an actor." He continued, "Acting opposite my dad was such a surreal experience, but we both had the BEST time and I really enjoyed getting to walk around in Hiram's shoes."
In addition to having acting in common with his father, apparently, Michael and Consuelos share a similar fashion sense. "My dad has a cool closet," Michael said in PEOPLE's 2022 Sexiest Man Alive issue, in a portfolio of famous sons. "I often raid my dad's closet — and he always notices. He's like, 'Hey, where's this?' And I'm like, 'Oh, you weren't home. You were in Vancouver for a while, so I figured...' He's like, 'Don't figure, ask!' "
However, Michael adds that he isn't interested in the matchy-matchy look. "I got new glasses and then my dad texts me, 'Where did you get those glasses?' " Michael recalled. "And I'm like, 'Oh no, can you at least pick a different color?' My dad, my brother, and I will be wearing the same black pants and gray shirt and I'm like, I try to look a little different than that. I like to stand out a little bit."
Lola Consuelos, 21
The Ripa-Consuelos family grew by one on June 16, 2001, when Lola Grace Consuelos was born.
Moments after giving birth to Lola, Ripa showed up for work (virtually) and called into Live! from the hospital. "She was born at 6:30 a.m. but I called into the show, Gelman had scheduled it. He was like, 'Try to get out of the operating room by 9:15,' " Ripa recalled on a later episode of Live!.
"I was like, 'Guys, I have to be on the air.' Talk about content — you think you making eggs is impressive. I was like, 'If we could speed this c-section along!' " she joked.
Now, Lola is an aspiring musician and in 2019, she enrolled at New York University to study music.
The same year, the entire family sat down for PEOPLE's Most Beautiful issue, in which they discussed the beauty and style advice Ripa and Consuelos have handed down to their kids.
"What is the one thing I've always told you?" Ripa asked Lola. When Lola searched for the answer, Ripa interjected, "Never touch your eyebrows! I have always told you never to touch your eyebrows, and you never have, and I'm so right about that."
The family also told PEOPLE that out of everyone, Lola is the funniest.
"The funniest, hands down," said Michael. Consuelos added, "She is just so smart and witty and funny, and she just gets it, you know? Lola knows exactly what people are about and how to handle herself in any situation."
The family spoke to PEOPLE again in 2020 for the inaugural Family Issue, where Ripa and Lola discussed sharing clothes and body confidence.
"If I could pull off your clothes, I would in a heartbeat. You've got the chicest sense of style and you wear everything with confidence," Ripa said to her daughter.
Consuelos commented on his overprotective nature with Lola as well and said that he's eased up a bit through the years.
"As overprotective as I thought I would be when she was born and I was holding her in my arms, I've mellowed a bit," he said. "Because I'm really aware of what a good head on her shoulders she has."
In August 2022, Lola launched her music career with the release of her debut single, "Paranoia Silverlining." Her parents were very excited about the news and Ripa wrote on her Instagram Story ahead of the song's release, "6 DAYS UNTIL LOLA'S FIRST SINGLE IS OUT."
In September 2022, Ripa released an excerpt from her book Live Wire: Long-Winded Short Stories, in which she reflected on the time Lola threw a party at the family's home. The talk show host explained that shortly after Lola moved into her NYU dorm, she snuck back into the family's Manhattan apartment while they were out of town to throw a "rager" on the roof.
"Lola told us that she'd see us on Thanksgiving, and not a day before," Ripa wrote. "I told her she was 100 percent correct because we were going out to Long Island for the weekend. So, Mark, Joaquin, Chewie [their dog], and I headed out."
Ripa and Consuelos caught Lola in the act thanks to motion detectors and as for her punishment, Ripa wrote, "Mark decided that she should be punished by living at said home instead of her dormitory for her freshman year ... I explained to Mark that his idea only punished me. My plan, however, was inspired: 'Let's change the locks.' "
Joaquin Consuelos, 19
The couple's youngest child, Joaquin Antonio Consuelos, was born on Feb. 24, 2003, in N.Y.C.
For PEOPLE's Family Issue in 2020, Ripa and Consuelos shared that their youngest always keeps them on their toes. "You'll have conversations with Joaquin where you realize you've just learned something new about the way he thinks," Consuelos explained.
Joaquin celebrated his high school graduation in May 2021, months after announcing his decision to attend the University of Michigan, where he would join the wrestling team. The young athlete shared the exciting news on Instagram, as did both of his proud parents.
"Super excited to step into this next chapter with @umichwrestling! Honored to be part of this great program," Joaquin wrote.
On his graduation day, Ripa celebrated Joaquin's achievement on social media, posting a series of photos to her Instagram Story, including a photo of her and Joaquin both wearing their robes — a bathrobe for the proud mom and a graduation robe for her son.
Ripa and Consuelos later snapped a cute selfie with Joaquin at the graduation ceremony, captioned, "The Graduate! #2021 👨🎓."
That September, Ripa and Consuelos dropped their youngest off at college, officially making them empty nesters. During an episode of Live with Kelly and Ryan, Ripa opened up about the experience and said that it had made her very emotional.
"We became empty nesters. We took our youngest son to college, we dropped him off. It was hard. It was really hard," she said. "We dropped him off at school and we gave him a hug — it was actually brutally painful. And I said, 'I did not realize that 18 years would go so fast.' "
Ripa and Consuelos have since made many trips to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to visit Joaquin and watch him wrestle.
In March 2022, Joaquin and his teammates won the Big Ten wrestling championship. They were recognized in October 2022 at a Michigan home football game — and Ripa and Consuelos were in attendance. In a photo with his parents, Joaquin showed off his championship ring.
"Big day at the Big House! Go BLUE 💙💛," Ripa captioned the image.
