Cringy Kelly Ripa reacts to TV interview after ‘Bachelorette’ Jane Tran reaction
“The Bachelorette” Season 21 host Jane Tran addressed her reaction to her awkward exchange with Kelly Ripa on the July 8 episode of “Live With Kelly & Mark.”
Ripa, 53, questioned Tran’s decision to find love on reality TV during the show, prompting Tran to point out Ripa’s own on-set love story with husband Mark Consuelles.
“Honestly, I would say, Kelly and I, everything was good fun,” Tran, 26, revealed during the July 15 episode of the “Trading Secrets” podcast.
“We have this satirical speech. I can tell the vibes, you know.”
“I didn’t take what he said to heart,” he added. “I think it was really good fun.”
When Ripa questioned Tran’s choices about finding love on the show, Tran replied: “I have a question: When did you meet your husband? … on TV, no? Referring to Ripa’s marriage to Consuelles, whom he met on the set of the soap opera “All My Children”.
Ripa then argued that watching on a TV set is “not the same” as going on a dating show like the ABC franchise.
“We were both professionals. Are you acting in your show?” Ripa countered. “I’m not married [Mark’s All My Children character] Mateo Santos. I’m married to Mark Consueles.” The two have three children together and have been married since 1996.
Podcast host Jason Tartick, who was on season 14 of “The Bachelorette,” praised Tran for how she handled herself on live TV.
“We know Kelly is not a fan of the show,” he said. “I think you handled it perfectly, especially coming from someone who you know has a history of being against the show.”
But the interview has sparked debate among Bachelor Nation. Former contestant Ashley Iaconetti criticized Ripa’s longstanding reservations about the show in an episode of her “Almost Famous” podcast.
“Every time we take a lead on the show to promote it, he always seems so skeptical — a little bit of the lead, and their decision to be the lead — and also just the process,” Iaconetti said.
Cohost and former Bachelor Ben Higgins chimed in, noting that Ripa “definitely doesn’t like the show,” joking, “I don’t know if they denied her the ‘Bachelorette’ role at some point.”
The season 20 lead said that Reaper’s dislike of the franchise “makes for an awkward interview.”
A similar sentiment was echoed by Arie Luyendyk Jr., who starred in Season 22 of the ABC reality dating show.
She wrote in the comments on Us Weekly’s Instagram on July 11: “Every time I was interviewing her I felt like my back was against a wall.”
Ripa previously drilled her decision to dump Becca Kufrin after he proposed to Luyendyk Jr. and instead dated runner-up Lauren Burnham. The couple would go on to marry and become parents to three children.
“I want to understand everything — your thought process,” Ripa said during a March 2018 episode of “Live With Kelly & Ryan,” before asking Burnham, “What’s wrong with you?”
In May 2019, Ripa also told her viewers: “You guys know how I feel about the show. It bothers me.”
“In my opinion, I can’t stand the idea of 25 exceptional women fighting against one ordinary man. You know how I feel, ladies, we’re too special to argue over a guy,” she added.
Ripa expressed those same concerns to Hannah Brown when she appeared on the show that month, promoting her journey as the season 15 lead.
Brown disputed Reaper’s claim, explaining that the series is not about “women pitted against each other”.
“Some of my best friends came from the show and were really supportive. When you have a group of 30 people together, there are going to be people who don’t like each other. It’s just general information,” he emphasized at the time. “It was one of the most empowering things I’ve ever done because I got to grow as a person. This is why I decided that I want to be a bachelorette. That’s why I wanted it so bad.”
Most recently, Ripa had a little crush on “The Golden Bachelor’s” Gary Turner in November 2023.
“You’ve done something that we’ve seen on many Bachelors before you, you’ve dropped the L word on multiple women,” he said, teasing her about telling the two women about her feelings for them.
Despite Ripa and Tran’s recent spat, a source told Entertainment Weekly that both women were happy in the interview last week.
“Ripa and Tran were teasing each other during the conversation,” the insider noted. “The interview was well received on both ends.”