Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa will celebrate 23 years of wedded bliss next month, making them one of the gold standard marriage of the entertainment world. In a new interview with Esquire, the "Riverdale" star dished on the secret to their union.
"I'm an incredibly slow learner, so I feel like I'm just getting it," he said. "Like, 'Oh, this is what you're supposed to do,' or, 'OK, sometimes 'yes' means 'no.' After 23 years, I'm just learning that — so, I don't think I could give anybody advice."
The actor noted that people give up on marriage a little too easily when times get tough.
"I guess sometimes you see these public marriages end and you wonder, 'Really? You're going to quit now? It's just been a couple of years, maybe you should try to stick it out,'" he continued. "It's kind of great to have a life together with someone. Of course, I'm not supporting staying in a horrible marriage. I'm just saying, if you can, maybe wait until it calms down a little bit. Wait until the magic happens."
Mark and Kelly aren't afraid to gush about each other publicly.
Last month, the "Live" host called her husband "the finest man" on his birthday.
Of course, Kelly isn't shy about calling her husband "daddy" either, something that has caught on with the Internet and given him "heartthrob" status. In his chat, Mark laughs at the term, saying family friend Any Cohen essentially coined it a decade ago when Mark was shooting and away from home.
"During one of my breaks, I called and Andy answered and I asked, 'Hey, can you do me a favor? Can you make sure a certain door is locked?'" Mark said. "People always forget to lock this door, and I wasn't home. I was kind of being… 'a dad?' I interject. Right. A dad. Andy said, 'Sure, OK, daddy.'"
"And that's where it started, and it stuck," he added. "It was pre-whatever 'daddy' represents on 'Riverdale.' It's hilarious. It's totally hilarious."