Kelly Ripa's fear of being fired from All My Children taught her to feel detached from Live workspace: 'It’s not your home'

A fear of being fired from her beloved soap opera role on All My Children taught Kelly Ripa not to become tied to anything but her family — not even her daily gig as a morning TV icon on Live With Kelly & Mark.

The actress and host revealed on Friday morning's episode that, despite being a fixture of the talk show circuit, cutting her teeth as the star of the former soap from 1990-2002 allowed her to detach from entertainment workplaces.

"I liked the weekly guarantee of the soap. Most people, they get on a soap and their goal is to get right off a soap, and I just settled right in there. I liked the steadiness of it. It just gave me a layout of my life," Ripa said on the episode during a conversation with her husband, Live cohost, and former All My Children costar, Mark Consuelos.

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Consuelos pointed out that "consistent work" is a safe haven for actors, but that "anything can happen when you're new on a soap" because there's a three-month cycle where anyone can be fired for any reason.

"Every 13 weeks you can be fired," Ripa added.

Consuelos recalled that for the first year, he was "pretty freaked out" and "slept on a couch" as a result of the anxiety over job security. This led to him never feeling fully comfortable in whatever role he booked next. He would "always think about the next job" while on set for whatever current one he booked.

Ripa then related the feeling of detachment to Live's recent relocation from the show's old New York City studio space to a new one in Manhattan.

"People were very emotional about packing up the studio, packing up their individual cubby spaces in the common office. Everybody was very emotional about it, and I had a detached reaction to packing things up and getting out," she observed. "It's from years of acting. No matter where I was, my home was always temporary."

She continued: "I always knew it was temporary. I didn’t know how temporary it would be. But I knew it was a temporary space, so I never allowed myself to attach."

Ripa then advised others on a tip she received from one of the older actors who worked with her on All My Children.

The star cautioned others to not "get attached to your workspace," but to still adapt to its accommodations wherever you can.

"Make it comfortable so you can survive in it, but it’s not your home away from home, because it can all go in a day’s time," Ripa said. "You have to be able to pack up and be nimble enough and get out quickly."

She then recalled that the couple's daughter, Lola, was "devastated" and "crying" as she packed up her Live dressing room ahead of the big move.

"I‘m saying to her, 'It’s just temporary, this workspace stuff is temporary in the entertainment field,' and 'Get over it!'"

In addition to All My Children, Ripa also led three seasons of the ABC sitcom Hope & Faith from 2003-2006, amid joining Live with then-cohost Regis Philbin in 2001.

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In a 2023 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Ripa admitted that, even though her husband was joining her as a full-time cohost, she had her sights set on post-career endeavors.

"It's so funny. Every time you get a new cohost, it's like a little jolt of energy," she said following Ryan Seacrest's departure. "But to be clear, I am always thinking about retiring [laughs]. It is my favorite topic of discussion."

Live With Kelly and Mark airs weekdays in syndication. Check your local listings for showtimes in your area.