During the prestigious Disney Legends ceremony on August 11, Kelly Ripa found herself intentionally avoiding eye contact with her husband, Mark Consuelos, to keep her emotions in check. The beloved talk show host, who was honored with the Disney Legends award at the event in Anaheim, California, shared this candid moment while hosting Live with Kelly & Mark on September 3.
Ripa, 53, received the award from her former cohost, Ryan Seacrest, who departed the talk show in 2023. While recounting the event, Consuelos, 52, revealed, “I was there watching your speech. I got teary-eyed.”
Acknowledging her husband’s emotional reaction, Ripa admitted that she deliberately looked away from Consuelos during her speech. “I know, I looked away from you when you did. I was like, ‘Okay,’ so I just looked at [fellow Disney Legends recipient] Angela Bassett the whole time,” Ripa explained, adding that she “didn’t want to be emotional” and risk being overwhelmed herself.
Ripa continued, “So, I just looked at Angela,” noting how expressive Consuelos’ eyes can be. “He looks like the emoji where the eyes are filled with tears,” she added with a smile.
During her acceptance speech, Ripa took the opportunity to express her gratitude to Disney CEO Bob Iger for the “truly magical experience” of being honored as a Disney Legend. With her signature humor, she quipped, “I’ve known Bob for, incidentally, 35 years, and he has not aged a day. So I just want to know what ride that is.”
Ripa also shared her appreciation for the D23 attendees and lightheartedly poked fun at herself, saying, “I know what you’re thinking. Why her? What has she ever done? She doesn’t even go here. But to you, I say, you sound just like my family.”
Reflecting on her career and personal life, Ripa credited the Walt Disney Company for both her professional success and her marriage to Consuelos, whom she met on the set of All My Children. “I owe everything to the Walt Disney Company,” Ripa said, before joking that the couple “made” their three children — Michael, Joaquin, and Lola — “right backstage in the Disney labs.”
In addition to Ripa, this year’s Disney Legends inductees included Miley Cyrus, Angela Bassett, Colleen Atwood, Martha Blanding, James L. Brooks, James Cameron, Jamie Lee Curtis, Steve Ditko, Harrison Ford, Mark Henn, Frank Oz, Joe Rohde, and John Williams.
Ripa concluded her speech by reminiscing about her first trip to Walt Disney World with her family and offered her heartfelt thanks to those who honored her.
In a video announcing this year’s honorees, Seacrest described the Disney Legends award as the “highest honor the Walt Disney Company can bestow,” reserved for individuals who have “pushed the envelope of creativity, challenged conventional wisdom, and broken the restraints of the status quo in search of new possibilities and excellence.”