Kelly Ripa’s Clever Parenting Strategy Is Shielding Kids From Paparazzi
In a recent heart-to-heart chat on her mom’s Sirius XM podcast, “Let’s Talk Off Camera,” 22-year-old Lola Consuelos, daughter of the beloved TV personality Kelly Ripa, spilled the beans on how her family used to outsmart the ever-present paparazzi during her childhood. In this candid conversation, they revealed the clever tricks they employed to maintain their family’s privacy in the public eye.
Lola recalled the early days when her mother, Kelly, used to playfully refer to the persistent photographers as something entirely different to shield her kids from the prying lenses. “And so, I became hypervigilant in making sure that we were very mindful of our P’s and Q’s,” Kelly, 52, reminisced, speaking to her daughter about those challenging times.
“You were also really good with photographers. The two of you would talk to them, ‘I’m with my family,'” added Kelly’s producer, Albert Bianchini, emphasizing their efforts to maintain a semblance of normalcy amidst the paparazzi chaos.
While photographers weren’t the real issue, the aftermath of their snapshots was a constant concern for the family as Kelly explained, “The negative take that was always certainly in the New York City tabloids and you and me and we and dad, we were relentlessly pursued, and it was a different time than it is now.”
When Kelly asked her daughter if she was aware of paparazzi at the time, she answered in the affirmative.
“I was very aware of it, and I always tell this to people because I say I think you and Dad did the best job of raising us with that type of stuff because we knew what was going on, but you always told us that it was something else,” she shared.
“Like when you would pick us up when we’d walk home from school, I’d be like, ‘There’s people taking photos of us,’ and you’re like, ‘They’re taking photos of the birds,'” Lola recounted.
Reflecting on their unconventional upbringing, Lola appreciated her parents’ nonchalant attitude, saying “I think if you had made it a big deal and would’ve reacted to it, obviously we would’ve reacted to it as well, but because you literally did not care and still don’t, we do not care and we didn’t care and we still don’t care, which is why if someone comes up to you, if we’re having dinner and a fan comes up to you and asks for a picture, it doesn’t even register.”
The family’s grounded approach to fame has clearly rubbed off on Lola. She shared, “It’s just time passes and we continue, like let’s just say I’m talking to you and a fan comes up and asks for a picture. I’ll wait for five seconds and continue my story.”
