Kelly Ripa is almost an empty nester! Ryan Seacrest’s Live With Kelly and Ryan cohost stopped by On Air With Ryan Seacrest on Tuesday, September 3, and dished on sending her daughter, Lola, 18, off to college and couldn’t be more relatable if you’re a parent.
Ripa and hubby Mark Consuelos’ son Michael, 22, has already moved out and is studying at New York University, leaving the couple’s youngest child, Joaquin, 16, the last kid at home.
“It’s a big deal,” Kelly said of Lola’s send-off to NYU. “The whole thing is — college is where you start establishing yourself as an independent person — when you send your kid away to college, if your kid stays sort of local, you get all of the hassle of sending your kid away to college and none of the sympathy.”
Ripa explained that because her daughter is going to NYU, she’s still close to home, which makes her nervous that she’ll use that as a crutch.
“That’s not good because if she feels homesick, I have to say to her, ‘You can’t come home. You have to work it out,’” Ripa continued. “… I treat it all the same; I did the same thing with my son [Michael]. I’m like, ‘You’re gonna have to figure out how to be an adult — this is when you figure it out.’”
Ripa added that her daughter got into more than one school and when they discussed which school was the right choice, she brought this up.
“When we sat down and discussed which school you should go to, this was my main concern,” Ripa recalled. “My main concern was I don’t know if you should be this close to home because I don’t want you using home like it’s your home; I want you to have an experience."
The TV host, who is celebrating her 19th season on Live, joked that she prayed for one child to pick a school out of New York City.
“I tried to get my daughter to go to school in San Diego, you have no idea, I tried!” Ripa hilariously admitted. “I was so desperate to get any of my kids to go to school on the West Coast because I just want to visit the West Coast … I want to have Thanksgiving on the West Coast … who wants to go to school with a climate that is so terrible?!”
Listen back to the full interview above for more, including to hear what Ripa thinks Lola’s “biggest challenge” will be at college and more!
And be sure to check your local listings to catch Ripa and Seacrest on Live With Kelly and Ryan!