Kelly Ripa Teases Mark Consuelos After He Admits to Having ‘Weird Bond’ With Dog Lena: ‘I Would Say Codependency’

Mark Consuelos made one thing clear during the Wednesday, February 25, episode of Live With Kelly and Mark: He absolutely adores his dog Lena.

The Riverdale actor’s affection for his precious pup was on full display after his wife and co-host, Kelly Ripa, kicked off a conversation about a foster kitten in need of a home.

While Consuelos wasn’t too interested in taking the cat in, he eagerly took the opportunity to dote on the couple’s dog. Ripa, meanwhile, seized the moment to tease her husband of nearly 30 years about his and Lena’s “codependent” relationship.

“So there’s a foster kitten, guys, that needs a home, and the cat’s name is Doby. And I’m going to say he’s a male. He has two sets of ears,” Ripa explained, though Consuelos immediately lost interest, declaring: “Nope.”

“Just imagine you wake up at 3 o’clock in the morning and Doby’s on your chest looking at you,” he quipped.

When Ripa reassured him that Doby’s hearing was fine but noted the kitten’s overbite required medical attention, Consuelos joked, “He’s got a lot more than an overbite going on.”

Acknowledging her spouse’s dispassion for the cat, Ripa turned the conversation to her and Consuelos’ own four-legged family member.

“You’re a Shih Tzu man,” she teased, as Consuelos agreed: “I’m a Shih Tzu man. Like, if Lena had four ears, I’d be like, ‘All right…'”

Ripa pointed out how their dog also “has an impediment.”

“Lena has one ear, that’s shorter than the other ear,” she shared, as Consuelos added, “Yeah, I like it. It’s cute, floppy.”

“It’s adorable. It’s very floppy. It’s a devil make hair ear. It’s always sort of flipped up,” Ripa continued, prompting Consuelos to confess: “You know, you’re right.”

“And you haven’t rejected her,” the Hope & Faith actress noted, to which Consuelos replied, “No, I love her even more because of it.”

“I know. He’s like, ‘Oh, her poor ear,'” Ripa mocked, causing Consuelos to ask, “We do have a weird bond that Dog and I, don’t we?

Ripa was quick to correct her husband, declaring, “Um, I would say a codependency.”

“We’re codependent. She drank a lot of water this morning,” he revealed, explaining that he even tracks Lena’s hydration and steps through an app. “Here’s the thing. This dog has to live as long as I do. I’m trying everything I can. I cannot… I cannot handle the loss of…”

The co-hosts then explained how “tough” it was to lose their late dog Chewie, who lived 18 years.

“Like, I’ve got a good 50 years left, right? It’s gonna be me and Lena. You won’t know whose diapers you’re changing… Like, who made that mess? I don’t know. One of us,” Consuelos joked.

Continuing to kid around, Ripa added: “At that point, you won’t really notice if Lena’s, like, a stuffed dog that you’re just carrying around. I’ll be like, ‘Go bring Pappy his dog.’ He’s talking to the lampshade again.”