Kelly Ripa Brings Up Divorce in ‘Uncomfortable’ Segment With Husband

Kelly Ripa broached the topic of divorce among older people in an on-air segment on “Live With Kelly and Mark” with husband Mark Consuelos.

“I was reading this article and I started talking to Mark about it, and Mark got very defensive,” Ripa said on the show, with Consuelos sitting next to her, according to video posted on Instagram by Page Six.

The segment concerned some viewers. “Some truth in every joke and he looks nervous. 😂 Time to get another job Mark 🚗. The segment was very uncomfortable to watch,” wrote one person on the Page Six Instagram comment thread. “Sad,” wrote another person.

Ripa said her husband asked her, “Why are you reading that article?” She responded, “Because I was in an airport for two hours, and it just popped up in my newsfeed, and I clicked on it. It was interesting to me. It’s the rise of the gray divorce.”

“Well, you came home from the trip, and you’re like, ‘I read this amazing article.’ I go, ‘Tell me about it,'” Consuelos said.

“I didn’t say amazing. I said fascinating. I said fascinating article. You really have to hear it read to you. ‘The astonishing rise of the gray divorce.’ And I was like, Oh I want one,” Ripa said.

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Fans Slammed Kelly Ripa on Social Media for Making the Comments

Fans weren’t thrilled with the segment, judging from the other comments on the Page Six comment thread on Instagram.

“Divorcing as an older adult is horrible for many of us who’ve gone thru it. How lovely that she’s think to joke about it so cavalierly,” wrote one person.

“She used the article to make him feel insecure. That can work two ways. The guy clings or he walks out of the door. Risky business,” another person wrote.

Others called the segment “unwatchable.”

“Her voice, her personality so cringy. She’s such an attention seeking person,” wrote one.

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Kelly Ripa Gave Out Statistics That Document the Rise of Divorce Among People Who Are Over 50

In an article called, “The Astonishing Rise of Gray Divorce,” Vox reported that more couples in their 50s “and beyond” are splitting up than ever before.

“Gray divorce — dissolutions of marriages occurring among adults older than 50 — doubled between 1990 and 2010,” the article says.

According to E! Online, Ripa gave some of the statistics on the show, saying, “Back in 1990, only 8.7 percent of marriages among people over 50 ended in divorce. And by 2019, that number had jumped to 36 percent.”

She then cited the reasons, including “empty nest syndrome, lack of common interests, infidelity, and health problems,” at which point her husband said Ripa would “change my diapers,” E! Online.

“Of course, I will,” Ripa responded, according to E! Online. “I do it all the time.” According to E! Online, the couple has been married for 28 years.

She also discussed how soothing the narrator’s voice made the issue sound. “Like it sounds like something amazing,” she continued, according to E! Online. “And then you realize, oh, this is very dark subject matter. But the voice of the narrator is so soothing.”

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