Kelly Ripa Opens Up About Heartbreaking Experience Being Criticized for Her Postpartum Body
Kelly Ripa opens up about the harsh criticism she faced just days after giving birth to her son, highlighting the societal pressures placed on women to be smaller In a brutally honest account, she shares her experience and sheds light on the importance of body positivity
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Kelly Ripa had a “brutal” experience on set after welcoming her first son, Michael, in 1997.
"I didn't recognize my body on the soap and had to go back to work just nine days after giving birth, nine days!" Ripa, 53, shared on the December 6 episode of her podcast "Let's Talk Off Camera." She recalled the wardrobe people expecting her to be smaller, but she knew she wasn't "going to be smaller anytime soon." Ripa revealed that she gained 68 pounds when pregnant with Michael, now 26.
"I don't have much knowledge, but here's what I do know," she recalled thinking. "It seems like this is going to stay here for a while. I'm not in a hurry."
Ripa portrayed the character Hayley Vaughan on All My Children from 1990 to 2002. She crossed paths with her now-husband, Mark Consuelos, on the set of the ABC soap opera, and the two got married in 1996. Ripa's first two children, Michael and Lola, were born during her time on the show. After leaving the series, she and Consuelos had their youngest son, Joaquin, who is now 20 years old.
“I believe every mother can relate to feeling isolated after giving birth,” Ripa shared in the latest podcast episode. "Regardless of the support available.” Now, with their grown children, Ripa and Consuelos frequently talk about their family life while hosting Live With Kelly and Mark. Ripa also made an attempt to set Michael up with 65-year-old Sharon Stone last month.
"I wish I could introduce my children to you. As we've discussed in our DMs, my two sons have incredibly different personalities. They disagree on everything, except for one thing - they both agree that Sharon Stone is hot." Ripa shared with Stone during a November "Let's Talk Off Camera" episode.
As the conversation continued, the women discussed the societal taboo surrounding older women dating younger men, despite Hollywood men often dating younger women.
Ripa, on the other hand, saw this as a chance to play matchmaker.
"Sharon, I could introduce you to my 26-year-old son right now," she teased. "I would love for you to be my daughter-in-law. It would be the greatest honor for our family. It would bring me so much joy."
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It appears that Ripa has made previous attempts to find a match for her son. On a recent episode of Live With Kelly and Mark in October, she confessed to trying for "many, many years" to set up her sons with Lisa Rinna's daughters, Delilah and Amelia. However, after seeing Amelia's modeling skills, Ripa had a change of heart and joked that her son "wouldn't know what to do with that."
