Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa are about to celebrate 25 years of marriage in May, but it hasn't always been smooth sailing.
On the Double Date podcast on April 19, the couple recounted an incident that really tested their relationship shortly after they tied the knot in 1996, when they were about 25 years old. In fact, Mark seemed ready to call it quits and actually chucked her wedding ring out the window.
"When we first got married, I think Mark felt like he rushed into it, and maybe he made a mistake and maybe he was regretting it," Kelly recalled. "And he took my wedding ring and threw it out the window."
She continued, "And then he turned around, and I said, 'I'm still here.' Because I really think he thought in that moment and I would somehow... vanish or evaporate. I was like, 'Now what?'"
The Live with Kelly and Ryan host explained that it didn't faze her, because she knew exactly how Mark was feeling: "I think it was, like, that moment of 'Oh my gosh, she is still here and I just did that horrible thing and she's still here. She doesn't really seem that rattled.'"
Kelly added that "it was a big, bold move" on the part of her new groom.
Mark jumped in and admitted, in retrospect, it was "not too smart" of him.
But the mother of three said she understood where he was coming from at the time, and it seems her response in the moment made all the difference in their relationship.
"I looked at him and I said, 'I get it. I get it. I'm young and married, too. I'm scared, too. I get it. This is forever. I'm with you. Now, we have to go find that ring,'" Kelly shared on the podcast.
"And I did," Mark noted.
She still considers it a "defining moment" of their marriage, Kelly revealed, as it shows they were both in it together for the long haul.
As she put it, "I am sure for a lot of people, it would have said, 'I'm done. That is outrageous. That is crazy behavior.' And I understood where it was coming from. It was coming from a place of terror and genuine fear. And 'Oh my god, I have to spend the rest of my life with this woman who does not value time, who is chronically late.'"
Clearly, it all worked out for the best. Their family of five just celebrated Mark's 50th birthday last month, with Kelly sharing a pic of the Riverdale hunk along with their children Michael, 23; Lola, 19; and Joaquin, 18.