Mark Consuelos reveals 'brutal' five months ahead of tragic family death
Mark Consuelos endured a "brutal" five-month period ahead of his father Saul Consuelos' death in March, aged 87, and he has opened up for the first time about how he "misses" his late dad.
Mark Consuelos endured a "brutal" five-month period ahead of his father's death.
The Live with Kelly and Mark star - who has been married to co-host Kelly Ripa since 1996 - got emotional as he reflected on the passing of his dad Saul Consuelos, who died in March aged 87 following a long illness, and admitted for the first time that he "misses" his father.
Speaking on the I've Never Said This Before With Tommy DiDario podcast, he said: "I lost my father five weeks ago. It was kind of a brutal five-month saga leading up to him passing.
"I knew it was happening. We all knew this is going to happen."
Mark told how he prayed for a "merciful exit" for his dad, and, Saul passed away "very quickly and painlessly".
The Riverdale actor also told how much he "misses" his late father.
He added: "My father's a mythical character to me.
"He's the best man I've ever met. Everything good that I've kind of glommed onto of how I carry myself comes from him.
"I guess what I haven’t said is, I miss my dad.
"I’ve never said that. I’ve never said, ‘I miss my dad.’ Because he’s always been in my life. He’s always been available to me."
At the time of his dad's death, Mark had to "compartmentalise" his grief because he was in tech rehearsals for theatre production Fallen Angels, but he admitted the project was a "welcome distraction" from the tragedy.
He added: "We just had a memorial for him this past Monday, where the family all got together, and the reality of him being gone hit, of him actually being gone."
Kelly previously paid tribute to Saul, during an episode of Live with Kelly and Mark.
She praised her late father-in-law as "the greatest person I’ve ever known", before adding: "I can honestly say I will miss him every day for the rest of my life, as I know you will, as our children will.
"He really is so symbolic of everything you are."
Kelly admitted Saul's passing was particularly tough for her and Mark's three kids, Michael Consuelos, 28, Lola Consuelos, 24, and Joaquin Consuelos, 23.
She said: "This is the first loss they’ve ever experienced in their lives.
"And I said, ‘By the time I was eight, I had no grandparents. You got to grow up [with grandparents]. You got to have deep, meaningful conversations [with them].' "
