Thanksgiving is almost here. As people prepare for one of the biggest holidays in the country, making their shopping lists and travel arrangements, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos have some helpful advice for anyone who's planning on spending time with their families.
The pair was discussing arguments over Thanksgiving, a time when tensions and emotions are high. "Politics," said Ripa, prompting a groan from Consuelos. "Politics suck the joy out of Thanksgiving." She read the data from a study, joking, "Is there joy in Thanksgiving?"
"There's always some sort of hard feelings and blame that comes up at Thanksgiving. It's always Thanksgiving where your family is 300 percent of themselves," she added.
"That's true," said Consuelos. "Stay away from politics."
What the study found
Ripa continued to share data from the study, sharing that arguments are most likely to be started by extended family members, not your parents or siblings.
"The weird uncle, the drunk aunt, the aggressive cousin — it's always that one family member that comes in with the sole idea to spark a family argument," she said.
Consuelos added some thoughts of his own. "You think about the weird uncle or that one cousin who's a little off — but you wonder if sometimes, in a different setting, are you the weird cousin or the weird uncle? I wonder if my nieces and nephews think I'm the weird uncle," he said, prompting a laugh from the audience.
Ripa was quick to reassure him. "No, I think you’re the funcle. Everybody loves you. They think you're great. They think you're very funny." She continued by saying that while Consuelos' jokes were "dad jokes," they still liked them. "And they like that you still try to pick them up and throw them in the air even though they're six feet tall," she concluded.
Ripa and Consuelos have been together for years. The pair met in 1995, when working on the soap opera "All My Children," where they played each other's love interests. Their dynamic quickly affected their real lives, with the two carrying out a secret relationship and getting married the following year. They now share three kids: Michael, 28, Lola, 24, and Joaquin, 22. Thier kids have all graduated, leaving the couple as empty nesters, an experience they've described as layered.
“The first one is like a bit of a shock. Each one, like the second one, is like, no big deal. Third one, for 24 to 48 hours, you’re gonna be like, ‘Oh my gosh, what have we done now? Now it’s just us,’” shared Ripa in her show. “And then your entire life becomes nudity in the household wherever you want,” she quipped.