Kelly Ripa is a force of nature, and proving that she literally went head to head with it in a new Instagram throwback photo. The 50-year-old morning talk show host posted the throwback snapshot on Thurs. Apr. 15, as she was seen in a black one piece swimsuit wading nearly knee deep in the water off of the Bahamas. But the normally turquoise waters were a churned up green, as she was surrounded by dark, foreboding storm clouds. The snapshot was so dramatic it almost looked like a painting.
The shot was taken from a distance by Kelly’s husband Mark Consuelos, 50. She looked so tiny against the vast sea and the high, dark clouds that looked to be bearing down upon her. Kelly donned a one piece with halter straps, but it was hard to see any of the other details of her swimwear from afar. Her hair appeared to be pulled back into a short pony tail and wet, as if she just took a swim, while she carried a pair of sunglasses.
Those sunglasses were definitely not needed for this particular photo, which the Live with Kelly and Ryan star wrote in the caption, “#tbt 2018 – ignores approaching storm #bahamas.” Kelly’s author and activist pal Dondré T. Whitfield wrote in the comments, “Of course you did. You are a storm yourself,” while Holly Robinson Peete declared her, “Hurricane Kelly.”
It’s a good thing Kelly loves the Caribbean, because this time last year she and her family were forced into lockdown at their island vacation home due to COVID-19 in Mar. 2020. She even did her live daily talk show remotely from paradise, with co-host Ryan Seacrest appearing remotely from Los Angeles. But viewers didn’t realize Kelly wasn’t at home in New York for several months until she let the news slip about her whereabouts.
Kelly made the revelation during a virtual town hall meeting with ABC employees on May 21, 2020. Kelly said that three days after they arrived on the island for a two week spring vacation, “the entire world changed. I hate to use the word stuck, but we were. We decided to stay where we were.” Fortunately their children Michael, 23, Lola, 19, and Joaquin, 18, were with Kelly and Mark.
Michael even had his virtual college graduation from New York University go down remotely via video from the Caribbean. He was seen wearing an NYU shirt with his mortar board and tassel while surrounded by his parents in a May 21, 2020 photo Mark shared to Instagram. The Riverdale star alluded to their unique whereabouts as their spring break trip turned into several months with the caption, “We know it’s not what we all expected, but we are so grateful to all be together on what I know must seem like the longest family trip ever.”