Kelly Ripa's Confession: 'Live' Co-host Admits to Stealing for the First Time After Her Friends 'Shamed' Her
Kelly Ripa admitted she stole a small item for the first time.
Aug. 10 2026, Updated 7:00 p.m. ET
Kelly Ripa claimed she decided to steal for the very first time after she was embarrassed by her thieving friends at a dinner party, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
During the Wednesday, August 10, episode of Live With Kelly and Mark, the mother-of-three claimed she was "shamed" when she admitted that she'd never swiped something that wasn't hers.
'I Was Shamed'
Kelly Ripa said her friends made fun of her because she had never stolen anything.
"Some people were like, ‘Oh, in fifth grade, I stole a piece of Bazooka bubble gum from the convenience store.' And then some people were like, 'I stole herbs from the grocery store on the way over here,'" she said on the hit chat-fest. “Like, these are established people!"
"I had never stolen anything. And so then people made fun of me at the table," she continued. "I was shamed for never having stolen anything."
Kelly Ripa's Confession
Kelly Ripa said she took 'three leaves' of basil from a garden.
Inspired by her pals – who her husband, Mark Consuelos, playfully described as the "biggest thieves" – Ripa made her move.
One day, she and the family got ready to spend time on their boat and eat a meal of tomato and mozzarella sandwiches. There was only one problem – she was missing basil and her own basil had died.
However, there was an herb garden by the marina.
"I broke off three pieces of basil," she shared on Monday's show. "I took a picture and I sent it off to the group text. 'There! I stole some basil from the marina herb garden.'"
Although Consuelos argued the garden herbs were likely "up for grabs," Ripa insisted that it counted.
"I stole three pieces of basil!" she added. "Like, three leaves.”
Kelly Ripa 'Learned a Lot' About Her Friends
Kelly Ripa joked she kept an 'eye on' her purse around her friends after their confessions.
But Ripa may have discovered more about her friends that night than she wanted to with their dinner party questions.
"I think it’s fun when everybody gets involved," Consuelos chimed in. "You get to know more about people that you didn’t know."
"I learned a lot," she joked about her friends' alleged thieving ways. "Guess what, I kept my eye on my purse the rest of the night!"
Kelly Ripa's Disappearance and Return to 'Live' Explained
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Kelly Ripa has been absent from 'Live With Kelly and Mark' due to a health issue.
As Radar previously reported, Ripa went missing from the talk show in late July and was replaced by a variety of celebrity guest hosts, including musician Kevin Jonas, Scrubs star Sarah Chalke, Family Guy voice actress Mila Kunis and reality star Garcelle Beauvais.
Consuelos confirmed his wife underwent a gum graft surgery that left her unable to speak and limited her meals to soft foods.
"She famously doesn’t feel pain," he said on the July 27 show. "But this one hurts, so I know it’s bad."
Ripa finally returned to the show on August 10, but only in pre-recorded content made before she went under the knife.
Live With Kelly and Mark will be on hiatus for summer break over the next several weeks. Ripa is reportedly set to film her first live episode since her surgery on September 8.
