Mark Consuelos‘ official return to Riverdale featured a fun wink at his personal life.
The Wednesday, June 28, episode of the CW show focused on Hiram Lodge’s return to the small town amid his tumultuous relationship with daughter Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes). The businessman ultimately admitted that the real reason behind his visit was that he needed Veronica to lie about going on a trip with him to keep the FBI off his trail.
Veronica, however, opted to meet with an agent who confirmed to her that Hiram cheated on her mother with a blonde woman. Later in the episode, Veronica called her father out and he admitted that he was having an affair with a woman named Kelly.
Eagle-eyed viewers were quick to point out the Easter egg that hinted at Consuelos’ marriage to Kelly Ripa. The couple, who met on set of All My Children in 1995, have collaborated on several projects together over the years.
After one year of dating, Ripa and Consuelos, both 52, eloped and later expanded their family with kids Michael, Joaquin and Lola. On screen, meanwhile, the pair collaborated on shows including season 3 of Riverdale where the soap actress made a surprise cameo as Hiram’s mistress Mrs. Mulwray in the present-day story line.
“[Riverdale creator] Roberto [Aguirre-Sacasa] called me and said, ‘Hey, I’ve got a question to ask you. Do you think she’d want to do it?’ And I said, ‘You know, yeah. Give her a call!’ They spoke and they figured it out,” Consuelos exclusively told Us Weekly in 2019 about working with his wife. “Roberto’s awesome, man. No one knows this world better than him. He just made it happen. I definitely did not ask for him to do that. I think he thought it would be so much fun.”
Ripa, for her part, was thrilled when found out about her character’s connection to her husband. “I literally howled,” she told Vanity Fair at the time. “And I said, ‘Your mistress?!’ Because I’ve never considered myself mistress material.”
The New Jersey native later took to social media to poke fun at the role, writing via Instagram, “It’s a family affair……..Hiram’s mistress. 23 years of auditioning for a role i was born to play. Coming soon to the @thecwriverdale.”
Earlier this year, the duo surprised fans when they announced that Consuelos would become Ripa’s new Live cohost after Ryan Seacrest‘s exit. The actor made his full-time debut in April.
“We figured that since we started our careers together, we might as well finish them together,” the twosome exclusively told Us one month prior. “We figured the idea ‘what could possibly go wrong?’ is something we’d definitely like to explore. Now, we have the chance.”
