Kelly Ripa Calls Out 'Manspreaders' as She Laments Sitting in the Middle Seat on an Airplane: 'How Much Smaller Can I Make Myself?'
Kelly Ripa opened up on travel-related 'pet peeves.'
Sept. 3 2026, Published 1:57 p.m. ET
Kelly Ripa complained to her husband, Mark Consuelos, about her experiences getting stuck in the middle seat on flights.
The co-hosts got on the topic while discussing common travel-related "pet peeves" during the Wednesday, September 2, episode of Live With Kelly and Mark.
'Everybody Knows the Feeling'
Kelly Ripa playfully called out 'manspreaders.'
Throughout the segment, Consuelos, 55, read off several key annoyances, including parents who let their children kick the seats in front of them, people talking loudly on the phone, those who treat flight attendants disrespectfully, and passengers who ignore personal space.
"Well, when you're a woman in between two manspreaders..." Ripa trailed off before adding, "And we've all been there. Everybody knows the feeling."
Manspreading is a slang term that became popular in the early-to-mid 2010s, referring to people – generally men – who casually sit in public transportation with their legs or arms positioned out in a way that takes up more room than needed, often pushing into someone else's personal space.
'How Much Smaller Can I Make Myself?'
Kelly Ripa claimed she always felt cramped in the middle seat on a plane.
Consuelos pointed out that there is an unwritten social rule of air travel that suggests the person sitting in the middle seat should get both armrests.
"Well, that never happens," Ripa cut in.
"Here's my experience. The middle person sits like this," she quipped, comically crossing her arms over her chest with her head bowed down. "Staring at their watch, wondering how many more hours this flight is and how much smaller can I make myself? How much smaller do I need to be?"
'The One That Got Away'
Kelly Ripa remembered a necklace she wished she'd bought in Greece.
Travel is a common topic on Live With Kelly and Mark. As Radar previously reported, the mother-of-three joked about finding "the one that got away" during a vacation to Greece.
While discussing collecting souvenirs on getaways, Ripa asked her husband, "Remember that necklace in Greece that I saw, that one- like five years ago?"
Consuelos admitted that he didn't.
"Of course you don't. You blocked it out," she responded. "But I remember. I still remember. Still think about it. It's the one that got away."
Kelly Ripa Calls Out Mark Consuelos for Being 'Tough' to Travel With
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Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos had an awkward exchange over travel preferences.
She's also repeatedly claimed the Riverdale star is difficult to travel with. Last year, she said her husband wanted to leave the house hours early and would "get irritated" when they were recognized in airports.
However, Consuelos denied actually being irritable with fans.
Months later, she brought up the subject again when she read off a list that revealed the "toughest zodiac sign to travel with, period."
Consuelos easily guessed it must be Aries, as he was born in late March.
"You are fun to travel with on the trip," she added at the time. "But getting to the trip, and even worse, coming home from the trip...the fun in the trip almost makes it all worth it."
"It's just the insufferable nature of getting to the trip and coming home from the trip...that makes me not want to take the trip at all."
