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Mark Consuelos opened up about the death of his father, Saul Consuelos, on the I’ve Never Said This Before With Tommy DiDario podcast on Tuesday.
The actor shared the tragic news of his father’s death on Live With Kelly and Mark last month.
“I’ve never said, ‘I miss my dad.’ Because he’s always been in my life. He’s always been available to me,” Consuelos emotionally shared with DiDario.
Mark Consuelos is opening up about the loss of his father, Saul Consuelos, after announcing his death on Live With Kelly and Mark last month.
The daytime TV co-host reflected on losing the man he described as a “mythical character” during an appearance on iHeartRadio’s I’ve Never Said This Before With Tommy DiDario podcast that aired Tuesday. In a clip shared by PEOPLE ahead of the episode’s premiere, the All My Children alum admitted that he prayed for “a merciful exit” for his father after a long battle with illness, and was grateful that “it happened that way — very quickly and painlessly.”
“It was kind of a brutal five-month saga leading up to him passing,” Consuelos said. “I knew it was happening. We all knew, this is going to happen.”
But even though the actor said he tried to emotionally prepare himself for “the eventuality” of the loss ahead of time, when his father died, the reality hit hard.
Kelly Ripa, Mark Consuelos, Camilla Consuelos, and Saul Consuelos attend ‘Off the Rez’ premiere on April 26, 2011
Credit: Rob Kim/FilmMagic
“My father’s a mythical character to me,” Consuelos explained. “He’s, like, the best man I’ve ever met. Everything good that I’ve kind of glommed onto of how I carry myself comes from him.”
He added, “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.”
While Consuelos shared that working on tech rehearsals for the Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival of Fallen Angels on Broadway helped him to “compartmentalize” his grief, that didn’t stand up to the reality of the situation when his family gathered for a memorial service. “We just had a memorial for him, where the family all got together,” he said. “And the reality of him being gone hit, of him actually being gone.”
“I’m going to miss just giving him a hug and holding his hand and just laughing with him,” Consuelos added. “That’s something I’ve never said in my life. I’m going to miss my dad.”
Consuelos also shared that he continues to honor his father before each Fallen Angels showing. “I do look up in the house every now and again,” he told DiDario. “You can’t really see, because of the lights. And I kind of picture [him]. I think about him before I go on stage.”
Consuelos paid tribute to his father’s legacy alongside his wife, Kelly Ripa, while announcing his death on the April 22 episode of Live With Kelly and Mark.
“You were blessed more because you knew him his whole life. I only got to know my father-in-law for 31 years. But they were the best 31 years of my life,” Ripa, Consuelos’ wife of nearly 30 years with whom he shares three children, added. “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 was the greatest person I’ve ever known. He really is so symbolic of everything you are.”
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Consuelos shared a few things he remembered about his father with the audience, including “a lot of lectures” and that he “learned so much” from him at a young age.
“I learned the most by just watching him… by watching the man he was,” Consuelos added. “He came here from Mexico in his early teens. He immigrated here from Mexico, he served his country for 30 years. Ended up in special operations command in Tampa. This young kid from Mexico just got his education through the Navy, was always going to school. Brilliant, got his master’s while I was a kid, and he loved this country so much.”
He concluded the tribute by telling the Live audience that he “was able to thankfully get down there and say goodbye” to his father, though he had to pause rehearsals. “I really feel like that was such a welcome distraction for me. I knew I had to keep on going, especially during that time. It’s been great. I had such a good time doing it. I know he’s there watching.”
New episodes of the I’ve Never Said This Before With Tommy DiDario podcast drop Tuesdays.
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