Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos gave an emotional goodbye in March to the Upper West Side studio Live with Kelly and Mark — and the New York City-based daytime series’ many iterations — has called home for over 37 years. But before they moved to the show’s swanky new downtown studio, the pair made sure to pack a key item or two.
PEOPLE caught up with the married couple turned co-hosts last month at the milestone episode’s taping, where they each revealed the one thing they’d be taking with them.
Consuelos went first, pointing to a statue of a golden retriever dog named Sammy. “I’ve had my eyes on him since day 1,” Consuelos teases.
As Ripa explains, Sammy has been a part of the Live studio since 1997. “This dog is the same age as our son Michael. And they both look really good for their age,” she says.
She went on to reveal what was coming with her, showing off the Disney Legend honor she was awarded last August. The statue will perfectly fit in at 7 Hudson Square, the Walt Disney Company’s new N.Y.C. headquarters.
“The reason I’m bringing this with me downtown is because that building is so like, sparkily and Disneyfied, I feel like this is on brand,” Ripa says. “I feel like it’s a good use.”
“Also, I feel like in my house, it feels very showy and I don’t want to show off my accolades,” Ripa adds. “Plus, I know one of my kids will pinch this. So it’s going in a safe place in a sparkling new studio.”
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos tape the final episode of ‘Live with Kelly and Mark’ at the Upper West Side studio the show filmed in for 37 years.
Disney/Lorenzo Bevilaqua
The final Live with Kelly and Mark filmed in the Upper West Side studio aired on Tuesday, April 1. The show will be live in their new space next week.
Over the years, Ripa and Consuelos have made many memories in that studio. Ripa joined in 2001, co-hosting with Regis Philbin after Kathie Lee Gifford’s exit. When he retired in 2011, she hosted alongside Michael Strahan and Ryan Seacrest before Consuelos nabbed the gig in 2023.
Before joining the show in an official capacity, the 54-year-old stars had both spent plenty of time at 7 Lincoln Square, the building (at 67th St. and Columbus Ave.) where Live has lived for the past three decades. The two actors filmed All My Children in the area, and often made appearances as guests on Live.
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos strike a pose with the audience of ‘Live with Kelly and Mark’ on the last day the show filmed in its Upper West Side studio.
Lorenzo Bevilaqua/Disney via Getty
In fact, one appearance in 1996 was particularly important for Ripa and Consuelos. Before the couple married, they famously broke up. Days later, they found themselves in the Live with Regis and Kathie Lee studio to appear as surprise guests for an All My Children fan the show was surprising on their Mother’s Day special.
“We had to be here,” Consuelos recalls to PEOPLE. “And we both tried to get out of it, but we both ended up being here on this stage.”
Turns out, appearing on the show together helped the pair realize they had made a mistake. “Obviously, seeing her, it was like, ‘This is the worst decision of my life. I have to be with her forever,'” Consuelos says. “And I asked her to marry me and we flew to Vegas the next day.”
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos with their kids in December 2022.
Kelly Ripa/Instagram
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The studio has also been where the pair’s three children — Michael, 27, Lola, 23, and Joaquin, 22 — have “grown up,” they say.
“We owe a lot to this place,” Ripa shares. “And it’s going to be hard to replicate.”
Live with Kelly and Mark airs weekdays in syndication (check local listings)
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