All products and services featured are independently selected by the editors, however, Soaps.com may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
Admitting that the whole thing “feels surreal,” Kelly Ripa proved why she was named a Disney Legend in her acceptance speech at the company’s annual D23 event.
Ripa received the honor at the major event – named after the year Disney was founded, 1923 – which took place in Anaheim, California, home of Disneyland.
“I owe everything to Disney,” she admitted. “Not just my career, but my entire family. I met my super-hot husband, actor and talk show host Mark Consuelos… on the set of All my children 30 years ago.”
Fans of the missing soap opera will remember that Ripa played Hayley opposite Consuelos’ Mateo. As the characters fell in love and became one of the show’s most popular supercouples, their real-life portrayers experienced the same thing. “From then on,” she continued, “we made our own three children right backstage at the Disney labs!”
As the audience laughed, she continued to shout, “I’m kidding, I’m kidding… we did them in our dressing rooms! I’m kidding again,” she said, adding, “HR asked me to remind everyone of their strict ‘No Hidden Mickeys’ rule!”
Since she was speaking to an audience full of Disney superfans, they definitely appreciated the bold reference. (For those not so familiar with Disney-speak, a “hidden Mickey” refers to a depiction of the beloved rodent that is cleverly incorporated into an aspect of a Disney ride or movie.) In the meantime, you can watch her entire acceptance speech—including the very funny introduction by her best friend Ryan Seacrest—in the video below.
She and Consuelos have three children – Michael, Lola and Joaquin. The couple married in 1996, a year before their All my children Characters – fresh from a kidnapping plot – managed to exchange vows. And of course, the couple gets to spend a lot of time together as co-hosts of Live with Kelly and Mark!
Other newly inducted Disney legends included actors Jamie Lee Curtis and Harrison Ford, composer John Williams, singer Miley Cyrus, Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde and Muppet master Frank Oz.
Check out this massive photo album dedicated to the enduring history of the show that Mark and Kelly once called home. All my children!
VIDEO: YouTube.com/LaughingPlace
