Kelly Ripa Gushes Over Son Michael, 22, Becoming A ‘Virtual College Graduate’ In Sweet Tribute

Kelly Ripa shared the sweetest flashback Friday post to her Instagram of her son, Michael’s, high school graduation as he celebrates his college graduation from New York University!

It was undoubtedly an emotional day in the Ripa/Consuelos household, as Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa‘s eldest son, Michael Joseph Consuelos, officially finished his time as an undergraduate student at New York University! The Live With Kelly & Ryan co-host, 49, took to Instagram to commemorate the occasion by sharing a throwback photo from Michael’s high school graduation four years prior. In the image, Michael, Mark, and Kelly and Mark’s youngest son, Joaquin Antonio Consuelos, 17, stood with their backs to the camera as Kelly captured the candid photo. Joaquin could be seen wearing Michael’s mortarboard graduation cap, with then-18-year-old Michael in his graduation gown.

Kelly began the caption to her post with a hashtag “fbf,” for flashback Friday. She wrote, “2016 fours years passed in the blink of an eye and today you take your final final exam in college. Congratulations Michael! You’re a virtual graduate. Literally!” Kelly added a string of purple heart emojis following her message, and added the hashtags “class of 2020,” and “NYU.”

Much like Michael, millions of college and high school graduates aren’t able to walk to the podium or onto the stage to collect their diplomas. In fact, many schools transitioned to online learning and colleges asked their students to return home as the effects of the coronavirus persisted. But a slew of famous faces have taken on the task of making the major milestone still worth celebrating. Today, Facebook and Instagram saluted the class of 2020 by bringing together celebs like Cardi B, Oprah Winfrey, and Selena Gomez to impart some words of wisdom and advice to graduates as they move into this next exciting chapter of their lives!

And Michael definitely has a thrilling future ahead of him. The 22-year-old majored in TV production and has already appeared playing a younger version of his father on The CW series Riverdale. It seems like Kelly and Mark will continue to see their son eagerly enter the transforming entertainment industry! As for their other two kiddos, Joaquin and daughter Lola, 18, both are still in school. Lola will have finished her freshman year at New York University, following her big brother to the elite university, and Joaquin still has one more year in high school before Kelly and Mark officially become empty-nesters!