Kelly Ripa Shares A Moment of Validation on ‘Live’ As She Recalls Someone Telling Her She Is “Much Taller In Person”: “I Grew Taller As She Was Telling Me How Tall I Was”

Kelly Ripa experienced a first this weekend.

Ripa regaled the Live with Kelly and Mark audience on Monday with a story, teasing it as something that “has never happened to [her] before in the history of [her] life.”

“A woman came up to me and said, ‘You’re much taller in person,’” she recalled.

Meanwhile Mark Consuelos, who is 5’8″, quipped, “Yeah, that’s never happened to me either.”

Ripa continued, “She actually said to me, ‘You’re a tall lady. For some reason I thought you were short.’”

The 5’4″-tall co-host highlighted that she “wasn’t wearing heels,” and was donning flats when this encounter occurred.

“I was like, ‘You should see how tall I normally am! If you think this is tall, I’m much taller! I’m usually four inches taller than this.’”

Consuelos said he “did witness” this interaction, teasing that “it took me everything I could not to start laughing out loud.” However, Ripa took the moment in stride, acknowledging the “smile” on her face in the moment of validation.

“I was like, ‘Thank you! Yes, I am tall. I’m much taller in person. Thank you for that.’ I actually unfurled,” she said. “I put my backpack down and I unfurled. I released my spine and I took a deep breath, and I got as tall as I possibly could.”

Consuelos chimed in, “You took the weight of the world off your shoulders.”

Ripa added, “I grew taller as she was telling me how tall I was.”

Consuelos reiterated, “I can honestly say no one’s ever said that to me. Ever.”

According to Ripa and Consuelos, the woman who approached her was about as tall as Ripa.

“She thought you were smaller on TV,” Consuelos claimed.

However, Ripa noted she “do[es]n’t think of herself as short, until people are constantly telling [her] that [she’s] short.”

“And I’m like, I’m not that short,” she said.

Consuelos clarified, “I think they say ‘tiny.’”

“I’m average height. I think 5’4″ is statistically an average height,” Ripa continued. “But I’ve never been called tall. But when she said, ‘you’re taller in person,’ I was like, ‘Yes, I am!’”

Consuelos quipped, “You did say that. And things are looking up for you, Kelly.”

Ripa agreed, “They really are! It was like the start of something amazing for me.”

Live with Kelly and Mark airs on weekdays. Check out their website for your local listings.