Kelly Ripa was brought to tears on live TV as her husband, Mark Consuelos, shared heartbreaking news with viewers.
Ripa and Consuelos first crossed paths in 1995 when the Riverdale star joined the cast of All My Children, where Ripa, now 54, played Hayley Vaughan.
A year later, in May 1996, the couple tied the knot and went on to welcome three children: Michael, 27, Lola, 23, and Joaquin, 21.
On Wednesday (February 5), during the latest episode of Live with Kelly and Mark, Consuelos shared heartbreaking news.
In addition to their kids, the couple have also been proud pet parents to two beloved dogs: four-year-old Lena and 17-year-old Chewie.
The 53-year-old announced on the show that the last 24 hours had been incredibly difficult for the couple, as Chewie had sadly passed away.
“We had to say goodbye to Chewie,” he told the audience, explaining that the family pet’s health had been declining in recent weeks.
“Chewie had stopped eating for a couple days and had been eating less and less for the past few weeks. She was extremely dehydrated and had some neurological stuff going on,” Consuelos shared, cited by Entertainment Weekly.
“You think, okay, I’m doing the right thing. This isn’t going to be easy, but it’s probably one of the toughest things we’ve had to do as a married couple. Thank God we haven’t had any tragedy befall us like that, but she was just a great part of our life,” he added.
Enjoying #NationalDogDay with Lola and Lena in the dog days of summer.
📸: Chewie pic.twitter.com/v38DtVASmT— Kelly Ripa (@KellyRipa) August 26, 2023
Ripa, clearly overwhelmed with emotion, stayed mostly silent as her husband spoke about how much Chewy impacted their lives. But when he reminisced about adopting their beloved dog on the show and how she had “grown up with our kids,” Ripa couldn’t hold back her tears.
“I’m really sorry. I thought I got it all out, guys. I really thought I got it all out, and I apologize because I did not. This is not how I wanted this to go down. God, she gave us so much,” Ripa said, her voice cracking.
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“We’re filled with gratitude for this dog. I apologize, I’m so sorry. She gave us so much. As each one of our kids left for college and then moved out on their own, Chewie remained right there like our steadfast companion,” she added.
Ripa took a moment to acknowledge how fortunate she and Consuelos have been, admitting she felt guilty crying when “there are much bigger problems in the world”.
The talk show host found a bit of humor in the bittersweet moment, laughing through tears as she described the way friends, neighbors, and even their mail carrier stopped by to bid farewell to her precious pooch before she passed.
“She was very much like a cat, you know, in a lot of ways. She pet you when she wanted affection,” Ripa said, before breaking down again as she described her final moments with Chewie.
“She never let us kiss her face. She was very precious about her face. She was not that dog. And, after she passed away last night, I kissed her a thousand times on the face, I kissed her nose. I’d never kissed her nose before. And I know that she was like, somewhere in dog heaven, pissed! But, I didn’t care because it was just so nice to have that,” she shared.
As Ripa and the audience tried to compose themselves, Consuelos wrapped things up with a comforting message. “We’re going to get through it all together,” he assured his wife and the crew before continuing with the show.
Our thoughts are with Ripa and Consuelos’ family at this time.
