Mark Consuelos Recalls the Moment He Fell for Kelly Ripa on “All My Children”: 'She Looked Like This French Vixen'

Mark Consuelos knew Kelly Ripa would be his end game.

On the Feb. 12 episode of SiriusXM's Let’s Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa, the Riverdale alum, 53, recalled the moment he knew his wife was the one during their time on All My Children in the '90s.

When it came to first impressions, Consuelos revealed that he thought Ripa was "hilarious" and "adorable." He first saw her in the rehearsal hall for the soap opera, wearing "these big curl rollers." Despite being attracted to her at first glance, his biggest priority at the time wasn't romance, but was securing his role as Mateo Santos.

Related: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos Reunite with Their All My Children Baby — Who Was a Stand-in for Her Twin Brother

"You have to understand my position there. I came from Tampa on an audition that, my agent said, you're not ever going to get," he explained. "The thought of me making the moves on anybody was absolutely out of the question. The whole thing was absolutely mind boggling to me. I knew I wanted to get this job because it would change my life."

"Maybe if I'd been on my third job, there might have been a different perspective. It's disorienting. I was on a tight wire," he added.

"Flash forward a week later, he was dating a girl on every network," Ripa quipped to which he replied, "Well, that was a week later!"

Related: Susan Lucci Recalls Watching Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos’ All My Children Audition Scenes: ‘We Were All Like, "Get a Room!" ’

In terms of developing romantic feelings, Consuelos said the "beginning of the tremors beneath the surface, where you start feeling some different things like 'woah, what is this?' began when she offered to run lines with him when he had to re-audition for his role.

"She told me to come to her apartment. I'm like, okay. And she answered the door in a robe. I was like, 'Okay,'" he mused as Ripa interjected to add that she "wasn't making a play." She was in the process of getting ready and didn't expect him to be on time.

"The first time was maybe a few weeks before that," he recalled. "I remember we were running lines and it was either my dressing room or her dressing room and she had these great shoes on, these heels with these crazy tight but not too tight jeans, but just [fit] perfectly."

Related: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos' All My Children Throwback Photos

Consuelos continued, "I forget what top you had on, but you were holding a cup of coffee and smoking a cigarette like out of a Parisian, editorial page. She smoked a cigarette like someone who's been in Paris all their lives. She looked like this French vixen."

Though they were both in different relationships at the time, the actor confessed he couldn't help but be mesmerized by her beauty.

"I was like, 'Wow, she's got really beautiful eyes.' Her cheekbones are very specific, her hair is amazing, but her eyes and lips were, I was like, 'Wow, she's got great lips,''" he recalled.

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New episodes of SiriusXM's Let's Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa are available every Wednesday on the SiriusXM app and wherever podcasts are available.

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