Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos were left without a live studio audience during the January 26 episode of their talk show. The rare shake-up was caused by the ongoing winter storm affecting New York City and spreading across the country.
Rather than dancing into the studio, the couple opened the episode seated at their desk, yet still received applause from the audience. “That’s loud for six of you!” said Kelly. The ABC morning show was forced to cancel its usual live audience due to the storm in the Big Apple.
Nearly a foot and a half of snow fell across the Tri-State area from the weekend into Monday, while winter storms continue to cause severe weather across the country. “We are audience-free today, with the exception of the people that already work here,” Kelly added. “Yay them! Yes, behold at the size of our staff! Gigantic! I like this! We haven’t done this since COVID.”
Mark proceeded to deliver the weather report and shared that Central Park had 11.4 inches of snowfall. “That’s not that bad for us in a massive snowstorm. We’ve had worse,” replied Kelly. Mark then revealed that he shoveled the “sidewalk area” in front of their home yesterday.
© ABC“It was very dry. It didn’t stick to the shovel, and when you kind of moved it, it would fly off,” he explained. Kelly then shared that she wanted to do the shoveling as her workout routine for the day, but her husband was against the idea. “[You told me,] ‘It won’t be satisfying for you. There’s no workout in it.’ So then, once I heard that, I was like, ‘Oh, forget that,'” she recalled. The talk show star went on to share that she had hoped the absence of an audience would mean they’d get the day off.
© Instagram“In the streets of Brooklyn, everyone is trying to just get up, out the house, and to start to dig out,” said ABC7’s Phil Taitt reporting live from Brooklyn. “New Yorkers are gonna be New Yorking today, no matter what. I mean, that’s the one thing,” replied Kelly. “You know, Phil, I really want to get that guy that’s shoveling gloves. He was glove-free and he’s wearing a hoodie.”
Kelly and Mark are no strangers to New York City’s unpredictable storms. The couple previously gave Architectural Digest a peek inside their $27 million townhouse on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Kelly and Mark purchased the lavish abode 12 years ago and transformed it into a modern living space with notes of French and Old Hollywood glamor inspired by the film Mommie Dearest.
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