NEED TO KNOW
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos executive produce Hulu’s six-part docuseries Squatters: Get the F*** Out of My House
The series explores shocking real-life cases of squatters exploiting legal loopholes to take over homeowners’ properties
Ripa tells PEOPLE the stories left her outraged while Consuelos says he was stunned by how difficult it is to remove squatters
Kelly Ripa says she couldn’t believe what she was watching while helping bring Hulu’s new docuseries Squatters: Get the F*** Out of My Houseto life.
The television host and producer, who executive produces the six-part series alongside husband Mark Consuelos, tells PEOPLE that many of the real-life stories featured in the project left her outraged.
“I’m very much, if something is unjust, it enrages me,” Ripa says. “I was shaking through half of these stories, just like shaking from rage shaking.”
The series — which is streaming now on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers in the U.S. — follows homeowners across the country as they battle alleged squatters who have taken over their properties and, in some cases, used tenant protection laws and legal loopholes to remain there.
For Consuelos, one of the most shocking discoveries was learning how difficult it can be for homeowners to remove someone from their property once they’ve established residency.
“Oh, I would be in so much trouble if this happened to me,” he says. “All the things I thought about doing are against the law.”
“That’s people’s initial instinct — like, ‘No, no, no, this is easy. Just get them out of your house,’ ” he continues. “It’s not easy.”
‘Squatters: Get the F*** Out of My House’
Credit: ABC News Studios
The project traces its origins back to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when Ripa came across a Vanity Fair article about a notorious Malibu squatting case. She immediately recognized the potential for a larger story.
“I said, ‘This is something. We have to make this into something. This is wild,’ ” she recalled.
Across six episodes, the docuseries explores a variety of cases from around the country, including a Queens homeowner who was arrested while attempting to enter her own property after a squatter claimed legal residency.
“She did all the right things and she got arrested,” Ripa, 55, says.
Consuelos, 55, says that story remains one of the cases that affected him most.
“I feel the worst for them because it wasn’t like they were trying to lease out the house,” he says. “They’re selling the house. And next thing you know, the locks are changed on their house.”
Viewers will also meet a Malibu homeowner whose life is upended by a woman who allegedly exploits legal protections to live rent-free; a Colorado family who says a man claiming to be their deceased relative’s common-law husband took over her home; a Los Angeles investigation involving a missing millionaire’s estate; a Florida homeowner who wages a 36-day battle against alleged squatters; and a Newark, N.J., woman whose fight to reclaim her first home escalates into a S.W.A.T. standoff.
The deeper Ripa and Consuelos got into the subject matter, the more stunned they became by what they learned.
“We’re just scratching the surface, honestly,” Consuelos says. “I think it’s not just state to state, it’s community to community.”
‘Squatters: Get the F*** Out of My House’
Credit: ABC News Studios
Ripa notes she was particularly disturbed by the damage many homeowners allegedly endured even after reclaiming their properties.
“It’s the audacity of the criminals, but it’s also their utter destructive nature,” she says. “They don’t just squat in your home, profit from squatting in your home, subleasing it to whoever wants to come and go.”
She continues, “They are then destroying the property value of your home by taking all of the appliances out of your home. The fixtures, the beautiful chandeliers, ripping the wood out of the floor, selling off anything. They destroy everything.”
‘Squatters: Get the F*** Out of My House’
Credit: ABC News Studios
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Consuelos believes viewers will likely experience the same frustration he and his wife felt while making the series.
“I think that’s what you’ll find watching the show is that your jaws drop,” he says. “You can’t believe that they actually got away with this or getting away with this until you watch the resolution of the episode, which is pretty fun.”
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