‘We love you dad’: ‘Live’ hosts Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa wish ‘pop pop’ Joe Ripa on 85th birthday

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Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa paid an emotional tribute to Kelly’s father Joe Ripa, who previously served in the US Army, on his 85th birthday

Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa took to social media to wish Joe Ripa on his 84th birthday (Instagram/@kellyripa, Amy Sussman/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The one thing that sets Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos apart from a lot of celebrity couples is their likeliness to share glimpses of their personal life with their fans. This could range from bedroom secrets to posting pictures of friends and family.

This time around, the couple paid heartfelt tribute to Kelly’s father Joe Ripa on his 84th birthday. The couple made sure to wish Joe on Instagram which has been flooded with wishes for the beloved grandfather of Kelly and Mark’s children, whether it’s an emotional reel or a Story. You might recognize Joe from his most recent appearance on Kelly’s game show ‘Generation Gap’ but there’s definitely more to the man than what meets the eye.

Who is Joe Ripa?

Born on July 3, 1939, in Camden County, New Jersey, Joe turned 84 this year. While most people recognize the older Ripa as Kelly’s father, his history speaks a little better for himself. Joe worked as a bus driver and also served in the US Army before eventually becoming a part of several union organizations. As per sources, Joe was the Vice President of the Central Labor Council of Camden and Gloucester Counties, after which he also became a Camden County Freeholder, and was finally elected as the County Clerk in 2009. Joe has been married to Esther Ripa since 1967, and together they have two children — Linda and Kelly Ripa.

Mark Consuelos wishes his father-in-law Joe on his 84th birthday

While Mark uses his Instagram posts to talk about his work and sometimes his wife, he uses the Story feature for a more day-to-day purposes. So for Joe’s birthday, Mark posted a sweet selfie of himself and his father-in-law and captioned it, “Happy Bday pop pop!!!” and also tagged his wife on the Story. Of course, Kelly didn’t miss the opportunity of wishing her father as she posted a heartwarming reel with the caption, “Let’s wish Joe Ripa, the breakout star of Generation Gap and the originator of the cross-body man purse the happiest birthday! We love you dad! ♥️♥️♥️” The reel included a string of pictures and clips from decades ago to until very recently with the song ‘Mambo Italiano’ by Rosemary Clooney playing in the background.