Kelly Ripa is missing from Live with Kelly and Mark after undergoing surgery on her mouth.
Ripa’s husband and co-host Mark Consuelos, 55, revealed on Monday’s episode that Ripa, also 55, will be absent for the week as she recovers from gum graft surgery.
Speaking to his temporary guest host Kevin Jonas, Consuelos explained that Ripa is under strict doctor’s orders not to talk as she heals.
“Kelly sends her love,” Consuelos said as he welcomed Jonas on the air. “Kelly had a little bit — well, it’s not a little — she had a gum graft surgery,” he explained, which is a dental procedure to treat thinning gums.
The All My Children alum continued, “Her dentist said five years ago, ‘You can do it in about five years.’ And she joked, ‘I didn’t think I’d still be on the air in five years!’”
Consuelos went on to say that Ripa is recovering well, but that she has to follow a long list of instructions as she recovers, which includes not talking.
“Wow, that’s got to be the hardest thing she’s ever done,” Jonas joked.
Consuelos replied that although Ripa, who he married in 1996, is “such a great conversationalist,” he has been trying to keep her on track with the rules, which include eating only soft foods, avoiding straws and not touching the wound.
He said that although the doctor told her not to pull her lip down to examine the surgical site, she still asked Consuelos to take a look at it.
“Yeah, it’s painful,” Consuelos said about Ripa’s recovery. “But she famously doesn’t feel pain. When she goes into the dentist, she doesn’t use the novocaine. But this one hurts, so I know it’s bad.”
Jonas, 38, replied that his wife, Danielle Jonas, also has a high tolerance for pain, joking: “I’ll be like, ‘Are you in pain?’ She’s like, ‘I’m fine!’ Come to find out her foot’s, like, falling off.”
“Well, they do have kids. They deliver kids,” Consuelos said. “We’re not built for that.”
Ripa’s fans shared their well wishes for her on social media, with one writing on X: “Hoping Kelly will be healthy for the new season.”
“I literally just had gum graft surgery 2 weeks ago and it’s the palate where they took the skin graft that is still painful! thinking of you and wishing you a speedy recovery!” another wrote. One person wrote on TikTok, “Loving this duo!! Feel better Kelly!!”
Ripa is expected to be off of the daytime syndicated talk show for the next week, but various celebrities are scheduled to fill in for her.
The Jonas Brothers bandmate will return for Tuesday’s show before Mila Kunis joins Wednesday, Pamela Adlon hosts Thursday and Scott Foley ends the week with Friday’s show.
Ripa has co-hosted Live since February 2001, with Consuelos joining as her permanent co-host in April 2023.
