Kelly Ripa battles awkward on-air moment with famous guest: ‘It doesn’t make any sense’

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos were forced to pivot during their morning show on Monday following a tense and awkward moment with their guest, comedian and actor Howie Mandel.

The 70-year-old, who celebrated his milestone birthday in November, appeared to take offence when the TV hosts mentioned his age on the show. “It doesn’t make any sense,” Kelly began, before Howie chimed in: “What do you mean it doesn’t make any sense? That I look great?”

“No. no. no. I don’t like that because that’s a caveat. When you tell someone you’re 70, and they say you look great…” he continued.

“We’re not saying you look great for 70,” Kelly clarified. “We’re saying you look great, and I don’t believe you’re 70.”

“No. no. It’s like saying you’re smart for a stupid person,” Howie added. “Oh, you seem smart, you seem smart, you see, no, I don’t look good.” Thankfully, the tense moment passed, and Howie explained just how he looked so good at 70.  

“Your friend, Jerry O’Connell, got me into the most ridiculous workout I’ve ever done in my life,” he shared. “I swim but have these cables which I tie onto my ankles, and then I attach them to whatever is at the side of the pool.”

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“Then he gave me these frying pan paddles, and I swim for an hour and go nowhere,” he said, adding he gets “so lost in it”. Howie has always been active and maintained a healthy diet, even more so since he discovered he had high cholesterol. “I eat healthy, just by virtue of what I like. I love vegetables. I love fruit,” he told GQ.

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“My one weakness is chocolate. But I do eat healthy, I am active, I move a lot. My life pre-diagnosis and post-diagnosis is kind of exactly the same. I’m living the same life, taking the prescribed medication, and getting checked every time I go for a checkup.”

He added that running was his favorite form of exercise, and something he had been doing since childhood. “I never wanted to walk anywhere. There isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t run,” the father of three shared.

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“I’ve run up to 15 miles in a day, sometimes it’s two or three miles. It’s like an urge – I’m compelled to run. I don’t even listen to music or watch TV. It releases endorphins. That’s my meditation, my distraction.”

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Meanwhile, Kelly and Mark are no strangers to awkward conversations on the show, and the married couple even bring their own relationship gripes to the camera. “When I’m really afraid to talk about something, I wait for the show,” the Riverdale actor told Entertainment Tonight. “That way, I have safety in numbers. I’m in a safe space.”

“Why discuss it privately when I can bring it up in front of the audience?” Kelly quipped. The duo met on the set of All My Children in 1995, married a year later, and have welcomed three children together.