Kelly Ripa Had a Unique Explanation For Paparazzi When Her Kids Were Little & It's Kind of Genius

Lola Consuelos is recalling the unique way her mom, Kelly Ripa, explained paparazzi to her and her brothers when they were young, and the talk show host’s inventive excuse actually makes sense from a kid’s perspective. 

The 22-year-old joined Ripa for her podcast, Let’s Talk Off Camera, and the mother-daughter duo got onto the topic of paparazzi. Ripa recalled being followed around New York City while she was out with her husband, Mark Consuelos, as well as Lola and her brothers Michael, 26, and Joaquin, 20 when they were young. “[Y]ou and me and we and dad, we were relentlessly pursued and it was a different time than it is now,” Ripa said.

The mom of three asked her daughter if she had memories of the paparazzi from when she was little, and Lola responded, “I was very aware of it, and I always tell this to people because I say I think you and Dad did the best job of raising us with that type of stuff because we knew what was going on, but you always told us that it was something else.”

Lola explained, “Like when you would pick us up when we’d walk home from school, I’d be like, ‘There’s people taking photos of us,’ and you’re like, ‘They’re taking photos of the birds.’”

Ripa confirmed the memory, saying, “I used the old bird watchers: ‘They’re bird watchers.’”

Lola recalled saying, “‘Mom, they’re really not, they’re not taking photos of the birds. I promise you. They’re taking photos of us.’” Ripa was unflappable though. Her daughter continued, “And you were like, ‘They’re just taking photos of the birds, like it’s not a big deal.’”