The Real Reasons Some Live Viewers Can't Stand Mark Consuelos

Kelly Ripa shuffled through several co-hosts on "Live" before hiring her husband, Mark Consuelos, but not everyone is happy with his contributions.

Ripa became number one on the call sheet in 2011 when Regis Philbin, who previously shared the daytime hosting gig with Kathie Lee Gifford, retired. In 2012, producers hired former NFL star Michael Strahan to co-host the popular broadcast with Ripa, changing the show to "Live With Kelly and Michael." And while they seemed to be a great on-air pair, Strahan's shocking exit from "Live" in 2016 proved that their beloved partnership wasn't working behind the scenes. Ryan Seacrest eventually took over Strahan's slot, staying on for six seasons before departing "Live With Kelly and Ryan" in 2023. After losing two co-hosts in less than a decade, Ripa brought on a more reliable sidekick, Consuelos.

While Consuelos had long acted as a fill-in on "Live" whenever one of Ripa's co-hosts was absent, he scored a permanent gig in April of 2023. According to various sources, Ripa hoped that Consuelos' permanent addition would keep "Live" fresh, and for many fans, it did. One year after his debut, Deadline reported that "Live" had seen a three percent bump in viewership, placing them above all other daytime talk shows. "I do think that there is something very possibly relatable about our relationship," Ripa said about their ratings success. "We have disagreements like a normal couple, and we're not afraid to let them unfold on the air and in front of America, and I think people find a lot of themselves in that." With that said, not everyone is a fan of Consuelos' role on "Live"

In 2023, around the time that Mark Consuelos joined his wife, Kelly Ripa, on "Live" for good, a fan took to Reddit to complain that he was a nepotism hire who only got the gig because of his proximity to Ripa. "Out of all of the potential people who could be Kelly's co-host, her husband was selected? Like really? It just doesn't seem like the right decision to make," they wrote in their thread, which garnered dozens of comments. One fan agreed, writing, "It's pretty dumb. I wonder if she threatened to leave unless they hired him. Or maybe they think it'll be more consistent long-term to have them as hosts together instead of this constant revolving door of new male hosts they've had since Regis."

Not all fans minded that Consuelos' husband status probably helped him land the lucrative gig, but there were other complaints as well. One fan, for example, thought that his chemistry with Ripa wasn't as potent as it used to be. "No, I just think it's a miss fire. When he cohosted as a sub it was a treat and cute to see them together. Everyone loved it. They were wrong when they assumed the love would transfer to seeing him daily," commented one user. There were also several commenters of the opinion that Ripa, who's been rumored to be tough to work with, brought her husband on to prevent trying to find another outsider to replace Ryan Seacrest. "Kelly is all about Kelly. She couldn't keep a co-host, so she got her husband. Two peas in a pod," wrote one user.