Kelly Ripa Jokes That Son Michael, 22, Is Suffering 'Extreme Poverty' Now That He's on His Own

Julie Sprankles

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Kelly Ripa’s son Michael is experiencing “extreme poverty” now that he’s joined the real world as a bill-paying adult. When she stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday, Oct. 22, Ripa playfully opened up about how freedom is proving to be a double-edged sword for her and Mark Consuelos’ 22-year-old, apartment-dwelling son.

“He lives in Brooklyn, in Bushwick. He loves the freedom. He hates paying his own rent and is chronically poor,” Ripa said, going on to joke that Michael’s desperately awaiting the arrival of the annual Halloween gift card given to him by his grandparents — because it has $20 in it. “He’s called three times, like, ‘Has the Halloween envelope arrived?’ because he needs to take the subway to get [it] just so he can have electricity. He’s experiencing being an adult.”

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In that regard, Michael’s struggles are a bit of a win for Ripa and Consuelos. They wanted both Michael and daughter Lola to spread their wings and soar into adulthood. When Ripa dropped Michael off at NYU in 2016, she told her son, “You’re gonna be like other kids and come home when it’s regular visiting hours. Thanksgiving, Christmas, that’s it. Your dad and I need to rediscover each other.” But by the time the pair returned to their apartment from lunch, Michael was waiting in the hallway with a request: to spend the weekend with them.

Lola didn’t fare much better, despite the fact she swore to her parents that she couldn’t promise she’d even visit for the holidays. “We drop her off on Saturday, [go to Long Island] and Sunday evening, our alarm trips,” said Ripa, revealing, “Our daughter is having a party on the roof of our house.” Accordingly, Ripa and Consuelos have decided their youngest son, Joaquin, is “not allowed to even apply to NYU or [any schools in the tri-state area.”

In all seriousness, though, we’re sure Ripa enjoys having her grown kids still need her. And, real talk, it also seems like she’s enjoying watching them figure things out — especially considering Michael recently “hired” her for a film project. Still, she seems to delight in Michael’s current sitch, which is apparently pretty bad… tongue-in-cheek, anyway. Ripa laughingly said, “I don’t think he’s ever really experienced extreme poverty like now.”

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