It was a long-awaited celebratory weekend for Kelly Ripa, Mark Consuelos and the entire family, as the youngest of their brood is now officially a college graduate.
22-year-old Joaquin Consuelos graduated over the weekend from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor’s drama program. He was also a member of the school’s wrestling team.
For the occasion, Kelly and Mark, both 54, flew down to Michigan to cheer their son for the entire long weekend of ceremonies and events, which began on Thursday and ended on Sunday.
Family reunion
They were also joined by their oldest son Michael, 27, who flew in from Brooklyn on the final two days, and their daughter Lola, 23, who arrived just in time from London to see her younger sibling and the rest of the drama program deliver their final performance.
Both Michael and Lola are graduates of New York University, much closer to the family home, and Kelly and Mark confessed on the installment of LIVE with Kelly and Mark airing the day after the ceremony that their son happened to be surprisingly scarce when it came to sharing details of his own graduation.
They complained about the lack of information they had about the various events, a sentiment they revealed that several other boy parents also shared, with Mark quipping: “Man, at 22, you should’ve grown out of this by now.”
© Kelly Ripa/LIVE with Kelly and MarkGraduation mayhem
“I’m going to gender stereotype,” Kelly proclaimed. “It was the moms of the boys that said, ‘I had no idea this was even happening…until you sent that group text.'” The couple detailed the many ceremonies leading up to the schoolwide graduation, including the theater program’s showcase and a ceremony specifically for the wrestling team.
The Riverdale star later remarked that their brains were “scrambled” in the lead up to the graduation, most notably the past month, due to checking in on their son for assignments, final deadlines and a lot more.
“This one hit differently, because it’s our last kid to graduate,” Kelly said, before joking: “We just kept waiting for something bad to happen.”
© Kelly Ripa/LIVE with Kelly and MarkBoth stars admitted they were a little apprehensive at first about whether their son had completed his requirements before semester’s end, but realized he wasn’t alone when he hosted a party for his classmates the week before graduation at their NYC townhouse, and several of them were still working on assignments.
Kelly Ripa: 5 suprising facts
© Variety via Getty Images1. Psychic pregnancy
During her early days on Live, Kelly’s pregnancy was supposed to be a secret. However, when psychic Char Margolis appeared on the daytime talk show, she revealed on air that Kelly was expecting after predicting a “new baby” was on the way.
2. Business partners
Kelly and her husband, Mark Consuelous, own their own production company together called Milojo, which is a combination of their children’s names – Michael, Lola and Joaquin.
3. Musical star
Kelly’s manager discovered her and encouraged her to pursue acting after seeing her perform in her senior high school play, The Ugly Duckling.
4. Three tattoos
Kelly has three tattoos: one on the side of her ankle, another of her husband’s last name on her wrist, and a third design which remains a mystery.
5. En pointe
Kelly holds the Guinness World Record for being part of a group of 305 dancers who performed en pointe simultaneously. She set the record live on Kelly and Ryan in 2019 in New York City.
See it to believe it
“We didn’t believe it until we saw him walk across the stage!” Kelly blurted out, even receiving a snide comment from Lola calling them “self centered” for only looking for Joaquin’s name in the program, which they then responded was so they could actually make sure he was walking.
© Kelly Ripa/LIVE with Kelly and Mark“Because he’s very cagey with the details…and he didn’t want to give us our tickets. What does that mean?” she added. They ended the segment by congratulating their youngest, their “newborn,” who will now follow in his older siblings’ footsteps.
While neither Joaquin nor his parents have indicated his interests in life post-college, his concentration means he’s more than likely to follow the path his parents and older brother have taken into the world of acting.
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