Kelly Ripa is Thankful Her Kids Don’t Have a ‘Mountain of Debt’

Kelly Ripa knows her kids are nepo babies — but she’s also aware of the positives that come with the negative reputation.

During the Tuesday, July 15, episode of the “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast, the Live With Kelly and Mark cohost said she finds “comfort” in the fact that her children with Mark Consuelos — Joaquin, 22, Lola, 24, and Michael, 28 — are graduating without student loan debt.

“I think my kids feel, like, very fortunate in general,” she told host Amanda Hirsch, noting how they feel knowing they don’t have school loans to pay off.

“There’s, like, a comfort in knowing my kids got to graduate knowing that they weren’t having to climb out of a mountain of debt. They are so appreciative and so grateful,” Ripa, 54, said.

Ripa and Consuelos, also 54, met on the set of All My Children in 1995 and tied the knot shortly after. They’ve been married for nearly 30 years and now cohost Live together.

Despite their fame, Ripa and Consuelos made an effort to give their kids a “normal” upbringing and encouraged them to hold jobs and work toward their goals without much assistance.

“I also think we kept their worlds really normal when they were young,” Ripa explained on the podcast. “They always, from the earliest ages they could, had part-time jobs, always. And … in their friend circle, they were like the only ones to have jobs.”

Michael is now a producer, writer and actor, Lola is a singer-songwriter and Joaquin is hoping to follow in his parents’ footsteps after majoring in theater performance at the University of Michigan. He graduated in May.

“Our children are fully aware,” Ripa said when discussing how her family is recognized due to their talk show status. “They’ll meet people on the street that will come up to them and say, ‘I watched you grow up. It is such a pleasure to see you as an adult.’”

She continued, “When my kids were little, they had the opportunity to come on and do, like, little segments … and people got a glimpse into their lives. And then they grew up, and they move on, and they move out, and they move out of the country in some cases, and people don’t get to regularly check in with them. And so I feel like, once in a while, it’s important to sort of let people in because I feel like they had a group experience. My kids had a group childhood. It was like they had lots of aunties, lots of uncles, lots of grandparents.”

Joaquin recently shared a glimpse at his post-college life via Instagram, posting photos of his graduation and more. “Now this is content,” Ripa commented on the post, with a fan writing back, “You and your hubby are great parents and raised a beautiful family!!! ❤️.”

Lola also keeps Live viewers updated on her life in the U.K. via social media, sharing photos of her escapades abroad — including snaps with boyfriend Cassius Kidston.