Mark Consuelos is mourning the death of his dad, Saul Consuelos.
“Two weeks ago today, my father passed away after a long bout with an illness. He passed away peacefully. Such a fascinating man,” Mark, 55, said during a Monday, April 6, episode of The Live With Kelly and Mark show, per Entertainment Weekly.
Mark’s wife and cohost, Kelly Ripa, shared that he was “blessed” to have known his dad his whole life.
“I only got to know my father-in-law for 31 years. But they were the best 31 years of my life,” Ripa, 55, said. “I can honestly say I will miss him every day for the rest of my life, as I know you will, as our children will. He was the greatest person I’ve ever known. He really is so symbolic of everything you are.”
Mark and Kelly, who tied the knot in 1996, shared that their three children are struggling with Saul’s death. (The pair share sons Michael, 28, and Joaquin, 23, and daughter Lola, 24.)
“This is the first loss they’ve ever experienced in their lives,” Ripa said, per People. “And I said, ‘By the time I was 8, I had no grandparents. You got to grow up [with grandparents]. You got to have deep, meaningful conversations [with them].’”
Mark went on to note that he remembered his father giving him “a lot of lectures,” noting that he “learned so much” from Saul at a young age.
“I learned the most by just watching him… by watching the man he was,” Mark said. “He came here from Mexico in his early teens. He immigrated here from Mexico, he served his country for 30 years. Ended up in special operations command in Tampa. This young kid from Mexico just got his education through the Navy, was always going to school. Brilliant, got his master’s while I was a kid and he loved this country so much.”
Mark noted that Saul would be a “prime example of what this country promises people” who come to the United States as immigrants, noting that “he raised three pretty good kids.”
“Now we’ve got to take care of mom. We’re trying to convince mom to move to New York,” Mark said, as he pitched an idea of his mom having a cooking segment on the show.
“I have to say, I’m so grateful to your dad for everything he did. A lot of times you’d be away working and we’d take the show on the road, and your dad would come on remotes to take care of the kids so I could go to work,” Ripa added.
Mark noted that he was “able to thankfully get down there and say goodbye” to his dad, but had to pause rehearsals for the Broadway play Fallen Angels.
“I really feel like that was such a welcome distraction for me,” Mark said. “I knew I had to keep on going, especially during that time. It’s been great. I had such a good time doing it. I know he’s there watching.”
