Yahoo Movies Kelly Ripa Says Becoming an Empty Nester with Husband Mark Consuelos Was 'Shocking... and Quiet'
Kelly Ripa and husband Mark Consuelos are adjusting to becoming empty nesters.
In this week's PEOPLE cover story, the 51-year-old television host — whose new book, Live Wire: Long-Winded Short Stories, is out Tuesday — opens up about how life has changed since her children Michael, 25, Lola, 21, and Joaquin, 19, left the family's home.
The couple's youngest child Joaquin moved out last year and is now a sophomore at the University of Michigan. Lola, a singer now studying abroad in London, and Michael, an actor and producer, are both living on their own.
"It's scary, thrilling, liberating, shocking... and quiet," she says. "I didn't know how to make dinner proportionally. Now, it's 10 p.m. and we'll eat."
RELATED: Kelly Ripa Gets Candid About Everything — from Marriage and Sex to Botox and Regis
Maury Phillips/Getty
Ripa admits to having some nerves about the big change.
"There were moments when I was like, 'We're going to be that couple: Our third child goes to college and we get divorced because this is it," she says, laughing. "But there was this other moment, where we went to the beach alone for the first time since our honeymoon with cheese and a baguette. These other parents were running around us with small kids. I realized I had never noticed the sunset because I was making sure our kids didn't run into the water when I wasn't looking."
However, in other instances, the Live with Kelly and Ryan co-host saw that she and Consuelos could get back to enjoying alone time.
She adds, "So I think for us, it was 'Oh, this next phase of our lives, this is kind of great.'"
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Kelly Ripa/Instagram From left: Mark Consuelos, Kelly Ripa, Lola, Michael, and Joaquin
RELATED: Kelly Ripa Recalls When Daughter Lola Threw a 'Rager' at the Family's Home in Book Excerpt
Ripa also opened up about keeping the spark alive with her husband of 26 years, revealing their sex life is "the one part of our life that has always been very good. Even when we're arguing, it's good."
She says with a smile, ""There is no inhibition whatsoever."
Miller Mobley
RELATED: Kelly Ripa on Her Complicated Relationship with Regis Philbin: 'There Were Good and Bad Days'
Ripa and Conselous tied the knot in Las Vegas in 1995 when she 25 and was "too young to get married!"
"On paper it should not have worked and when it didn't work, we really worked at it. We fought for our marriage when it would have been easier to quit and throw in the towel," she says. "Listen, my parents have been married for 61 years and Mark's parents have been married for 55 years. We didn't know any other way."
For more about Kelly Ripa pick up the new issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.
