Kelly Ripa & Mark Consuelos Aren't the Only Soap Opera Stars Who Found Love Off-Screen

By Samantha Bergeson Jun 07, 2021 1:00 PMTags
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After years of slaps, affairs and secret twins, some soap opera stars opted to bring the drama home with them—or at least their co-stars. 

All My Children alums Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos discovered their onscreen chemistry translated to off-screen quite easily. "We fell in love long before our characters fell in love...but we were around each other a lot," Consuelos previously told E! News

The couple eloped in 1996 and still can't keep their hands off of each other. "Happy 25th Anniversary to the love of my life @instasuelos in the blink of an eye. Because when you know, you know. Thank you for all of the dreams you made reality," Ripa wrote on Instagram in May 2021. The Live with Kelly and Ryan host and Riverdale star are also parents to three children: MichaelJoaquin and Lola

Ripa even chose her former AMC co-star Eva LaRue to be godmother to eldest son Michael; LaRue also married AMC alum John Callahan. Real life pals Ripa and LaRue will reunite onscreen for E!'s new series Reunion Road Trip on Thursday, June 10 along with other All My Children cast members Rebecca BudigCameron MathisonDebbi MorganDarnell Williams and Susan Lucci.

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Justin Hartley's Cutest Dad Moments

Of course, Ripa and Consuelos aren't the only ageless former soap star couple to find love on set.

This Is Us actor Justin Hartley fell in love not once but thrice with his soap opera co-stars. Hartley first wed Passions actress Lindsay Korman in May 2004 before calling it quits eight years later. He then married Days of Our Lives star Chrishell Strause in October 2017; the couple finalized their divorce in January 2021. Hartley vowed the third time's the charm with a private surprise wedding to The Young and the Restless actress Sofia Pernas in May 2021.

So what other celebrities have soap opera-worthy stories of how they met? Keep scrolling to find out ahead of Thursday's Reunion Road Trip special with the All My Children stars at 9 p.m.!

Kelly Ripa & Mark Consuelos

Kelly Ripa actually auditioned her future husband Mark Consuelos to play her boyfriend on All My Children. "When I saw him, the photograph of him, I saw my entire future with him flash before [my eyes]. Like, I saw it," Ripa recalled to SiriusXM show "Lunch With Bruce" in August 2018. "I [didn't] believe in any of that and now I do because of that moment." The couple eloped in 1996 only one year after meeting and are still going strong 25 years later. And the All My Children stars eventually had three children of their own—even AMC co-star Eva LaRue is godmother to their eldest son Michael!

Eva LaRue & John Callahan

The All My Children lovebirds wed in 1996 and split in 2005. Yet Eva LaRue only had kind things to say about her ex John Callahan after his tragic death in 2020 following a stroke. "My great friend, co parent partner, and loving father to Kaya," LaRue wrote on Instagram. "Love knows not its depth till the hour of separation. Our hearts are broken."

Justin Hartley & Chrishell Strause

Before This Is Us, Justin Hartley was spending the Days of Our Lives with The Young and the Restless series regular Chrishell Strause. The couple dated for three years before tying the knot in 2016. While Strause went on to star in Netflix real estate reality series Selling SunsetHartley filed for divorce in 2019. They reached a private settlement by January 2021.

Justin Hartley & Sofia Pernas

Hartley just can't stay away from soap opera stars! The actor sparked romance rumors with former The Young and the Restless co-star Sofia Pernas in May 2020; the couple quietly tied the knot in May 2021.

Eileen Davidson & Vincent Van Patten

This couple was certainly Young and Restless when they met! Daytime Emmy Award winner Eileen Davidson found love with co-star Vincent Van Patten in 2000. The only catch? They were both married to other people. "We had a friendship for a long time," Davidson explained on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in 2016. "We just kind of fell in love. I told my husband at the time, ‘We have a situation here. I am having feelings for somebody.'" Seems like it was the right decision because Davidson and Van Patten celebrated their 18th anniversary in April 2021.

David & Melissa Fumero

Before starring on Brooklyn Nine-NineMelissa Fumero and David Fumero connected on One Life to Live. They got married in 2007 and have two sons.

Cady McClain & Jon Lindstrom

Even Davidson's ex-husband Jon Lindstrom found love again on set! The As the Wold Turns actor married co-star Cady McClain in 2014.

Courtney Hope & Chad Duell

Paging a heart surgeon! Courtney Hope was introduced to future husband Chad Duell through her General Hospital onscreen brother, Bryan Craig. Duell stars in The Young and the Restless and the couple announced their engagement on Valentine's Day 2021.

Kelly Thiebaud & Bryan Craig

Kelly Thiebaud and her former General Hospital co-star Bryan Craig got engaged in June 2015 but went their separate ways a year later.

Bill Hayes & Susan Seaforth Hayes

Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes found a lifelong romance on the set of Days of Our Lives. They wed in 1974 and have been together ever since.

Mick Cain & Schae Harrison

Mick Cain certainly thought co-star Schae Harrison was Bold and Beautiful! The duo have been together for 20 years since meeting on set.

Brandon Brash & Kirsten Storms

General Hospital co-stars Brandon Barash and Kirsten Storms had a whirlwind romance and got married in 2013 only months after dating. The duo welcomed a daughter in January 2014, but divorced by 2016.

Maura West & Scott DeFreitas

As the World Turns stars Maura West and Scott DeFreitas got married in 2000, and are parents to four kids today.

James & Kassie DePaiva

The Days of Our Lives former co-stars got married in 1996 and share son James Quentin together. Kassie DePaiva went public with her leukemia battle in 2016 and thanked her family for their support.

Doug Davidson & Cindy Fisher

Doug Davidson began dating his Young and the Restless co-star Cindy Fisher in the early 1980s. The couple tied the knot in 1984 and have two kids together.

Darin Brooks & Kelly Kruger

Technically Darin Brooks and Kelly Kruger fell in love as co-stars on sitcom Blue Mountain State but the couple did appear together on The Bold and the Beautiful. The couple were married in 2016 and welcomed their first child in 2019.

True O'Brien & Casey Moss

Casey Moss found true love with True O'Brien on Days of Our Lives in 2015.

Kyle Lowder & Arianne Zucker & Shawn Christian

In a soap opera-inspired twist, this Days of Our Lives trio has two marriages between them. Kyle Lowder and co-star Arianne Zucker were married for 12 years before divorcing in 2014. Zucker found love again with another DOOL star, Shawn Christian. The couple have been dating for eight years. 

Crystal Chappell & Michael Sabatino

From playing a lovestruck couple onscreen to tying the knot off-screen! Days of Our Lives alums Crystal Chappell and Michael Sabatino wed in 1997 and have two sons together.

Amelia Heinle & Thad Luckinbill

Art mimicked life as onscreen married couple Amelia Heinle and Thad Luckinbill tied the knot in real life. The couple called it quits after a decade of marriage in 2017, just as their The Young and the Restless alter-egos also had marriage woes. 

Michael Saucedo & Rebecca Herbst

The General Hospital duo got married in 2001 and are parents to four kids.

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