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Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos recently found themselves talking about bras. Over the years, Mark and Kelly have successfully leaned into their “longtime married co-hosts” schtick. Sure, it can sometimes get inappropriate, but it can also be fun. In terms of a daily TV show that has to keep it fresh, Live With Kelly and Mark does a decent job of veering into personal territory without going super into TMI. They usually do just enough TMI to make headlines for it.
This brings me back to the bra talk. On a recent episode of Live With Kelly and Mark, Kelly joked about wearing such a small bra that there’s “nothing else there.” She also gave a history lesson about them, sharing that her brassieres are “older than you think” and then poked fun at the shelf-life of her undergarments. Kelly keeps ’em for a long time! Mark, for his part, contributed to the discussion by volunteering his favorite type of bra.
Kelly Ripa was feeling a tad bra-vocative. In fact, the Live with Kelly and Mark host had a frank discussion regarding her undergarments alongside husband Mark Consuelos, explaining that she doesn’t replace her bras all that often.
“Bras! Bras, everyone,” Kelly began on the Aug. 13 episode of their daytime talk show. “Bras are older than you think.”
The 54-year-old jokingly added, “And I don’t mean just my bra. I mean bras.”
According to the tv host, her bras last “thousands of years,” noting that because of her smaller chest they “don’t get a big workout.”
As she joked, “I’m not asking a lot of them, if you know what I’m saying.”
“Basically, I wear a bra to hold my microphone on,” she continued. “That is why I wear a bra, not to hold anything else, because there’s nothing else there.”
And Kelly was quick to shut down anyone in the audience who was put off by the discussion.
“I don’t care if you’re offended,” she told the crowd. “Shut it.”
Mark—with whom Kelly shares children Michael, 28, Lola, 24, and Joaquin, 22—jumped in with his own thoughts on the matter, saying, “I used to like the ones that had the little snaps in the front.”
Of course, the remark led to one of the couple’s many NSFW conversations, with Kelly adding that Mark “was very good” at removing that style of undergarment.
“I was so impressed,” she recalled. “I was like, ‘Wow, I mean, this guy knows his way around a bra.’”
To which Mark quipped, “If you’re from Tampa you know how to do that stuff quick,” adding that even the back clasps were “child’s play.”
When I saw the clip of Kelly talking about owning old bras, I had to laugh because I still own a few pairs of sports bras that I got 20+ years ago! Bras can be hit or miss, but when you find one that’s comfortable, you want to keep it for the long haul. It’s not like the fashion industry has always gone out of their way to prioritize women’s comfort. For a long time, we were just fighting for decent pockets and clothing to be made for all body types. It’s the same feeling as wanting to keep a comfy old pair of broken in jeans. It’s too expensive to put the time and money into breaking in a new pair!
I was curious, though, and looked it the history of the bra. They really are thousands of years old, with the first documented evidence of women using chest support going back to 1600 BCE. That doesn’t surprise me. Fashion has always addressed ‘the girls’ in some form or other. Also, good for Mark for finding an “in” on being able to contribute to the discussion. Men always love bragging at how fast they can undo a bra. In terms of convenience for everyone involved and any situation, who doesn’t love a good front snap?
photos credit: Getty, Roger/Backgrid
If I find a well fittted bra I’ll keep it as long as I can.
One of my ex-boyfriends told me about how his childhood best friend’s older brother taught them to undo bras by having the practice on one wrapped around a chair back, as well as coached them on paying women and girls compliments.