Kelly Ripa And Mark Consuelos Share Strong Bond With Wrestling Champion Son Joaquin

Oct 20, 2022

Kelly Ripa and her family have had pretty successful lives. She and her husband both made careers for themselves in the entertainment industry, while their children have excelled in their academic studies. One of the family’s success stories came from the youngest son Joaquin who was accepted into the University of Michigan, a feat that might have seemed impossible due to Joaquin’s learning disabilities.

Ripa is known for being an actress, dancer, talk show host and television producer. She currently owns a New York-based production company called Milojo with her husband. She has also made a name for herself as a philanthropist.

Born in Berlin, New Jersey, on Oct. 2, 1970, Ripa grew up loving the arts. She played piano and started studying ballet at 3 years old. Ripa found her calling for her future career while attending Eastern Regional High School in Voorhees Township, New Jersey. She was encouraged by her high school drama teacher to pursue acting and ended up doing just that. Ripa was the first in her family to enter the world of acting and was rewarded with plenty of success and accolades. 
After enjoying a career in acting and starting a family, Ripa ventured into another job in the entertainment industry. She created a great career for herself and raised her children to aspire to the same.

Ripa’s youngest son, Joaquin, was able to conquer the odds of a learning disorder and start an education while also doing something he really loved – wrestling. Let’s take a look at their heartwarming mother-son relationship.

Ripa is married to Mark Consuelos. The family has had great times together, even when things get rough. During a segment of “Live with Kelly and Ryan” recorded over Skype, Ripa talked about how much fun she had cutting her family’s hair during quarantine in June 2020. Joaquin then appeared on camera to show off his new hairdo. “She did a really good job,” Joaquin said about his mother’s skills. “I’m really happy.”

It was then his mother’s turn to compliment him as she revealed what a great student her son is. Joaquin is a straight-A student and had a great parent-teacher conference the night before. Joaquin was so focused on his studies that he didn’t even want to be on camera that day to show off his haircut. He had a math exam to prepare for.

School hadn’t always come easily to Joaquin, however. According to People, he has dyslexia and dysgraphia, which makes it hard for him to read and write. That didn’t stop him from studying hard and getting good grades. Joaquin got accepted to the University of Michigan to further his education, as well as join the school’s wrestling team. Joaquin posted a photo on Instagram wearing the school’s official colors, blue and maize.

The family was recognized for being one of the most beautiful families in the celebrity world. All six interviewed with People for the magazine’s Beautiful Issue of 2019. The family talked about what makes them each so unique and what they’ve learned from one another. Joaquin spoke about how much he loved being the baby of the family. 

“My favorite thing about being the baby of the family is probably being able to learn from my brother and my sister because I’ve seen their high school experiences and I also get away with probably more than (them),” Joaquin said.

Their father said it was probably because he and Ripa were a little less uptight with their parenting with him than they were while raising Lola and Michael since he was the last child. “We’ve been worn down,” Consuelos joked about raising the three children.

The family never knew if Joaquin would be able to go to college because of his learning struggles, which Ripa referred to as a “misunderstood learning difference."

Raising a son interested in wrestling shaped up to be pretty scary. During a segment from “Live! with Kelly and Ryan,” Ripa revealed the time Joaquin broke his nose while wrestling. The injury was much more serious than Joaquin’s parents had anticipated, but he, fortunately, recovered just fine!

Joaquin went on to prove he had quite a talent for wrestling. In October 2022, Ripa and Consuelos attended their son’s ceremony, celebrating the fact that the Michigan Wrestling Team was the 2022 Big Ten Champions and NCAA Runner-Up. Joaquin’s parents were seen celebrating with the team afterward, showing just how supportive they have been of Joaquin striving to reach all of his dreams.

Ripa also took to Instagram to share how proud she was of her son. In the caption, she wrote, “Big day at the Big House! Go BLUE 💙💛 #team100 #bigtenchamps #wrestling.”

We’re sure Ripa is incredibly proud of her son, and we can’t wait to see what else the Ripa-Consuelos household does next!

What do you think about Kelly Ripa and her family? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to your family and friends, too!