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Kelly Ripa is looking back on a hilarious moment behind the wheel that turned into a playful debate with longtime TV producer Michael Gelman.
During the July 22 episode of Live With Kelly & Mark, the talk show host joked about a drive home from Long Island where she claimed Gelman passed her on the road.
“Let me tell you about the lead foot of Michael Gelman,” Ripa began on the show. “I was breaking the law, but I was following the car in front of me.”
According to Ripa, Gelman’s driving style made the trip much faster than expected.
“We made it home in record time,” Ripa told Mark Consuelos. “But it was wild. He was also changing lanes illegally. He was flying through the lanes.”
The camera then shifted to Gelman, who appeared amused by Ripa’s version of events. The executive producer quickly offered his own perspective, joking that Ripa may have viewed the situation a little differently.
“Kelly, you are looking through a different lens. You were driving like this,” Gelman said while doing a “Manhattan grandma” driving action, “very slowly, like she’s never driven before, like a Manhattan woman.”
“She’s not a big driver, Mark,” he added.
Consuelos then jokingly stepped in to defend his wife, squaring up to Gelman during the lighthearted exchange.
Ripa Previously Shared Another Scary Car Moment
The funny conversation comes months after Ripa opened up about another stressful vehicle-related situation involving her beloved dog Lena.
During a May episode of Live With Kelly and Mark, Ripa recalled a frightening moment that happened over Memorial Day Weekend when she accidentally locked herself, her phone and her keys out of the car while her pet was still inside.
Ripa explained that she had taken Lena to the Palm Springs street festival and was preparing to leave after shopping for her family.
After securing Lena’s carrier inside the vehicle, Ripa walked around to the driver’s side before realizing she could not get back in.
"Door is locked," she recounted during the broadcast, noting her keys and phone were both stuck inside the vehicle with their tiny pet. “Car is on. I put the key in the ignition. I turned the car on, put the AC on to cool it down for Lena. But it's locked."
A Stranger Helped Ripa During the Emergency
The situation became even more stressful because the car was parked inside a garage connected to a casino.
Ripa quickly looked for help and stopped a man driving a van, explaining what had happened.
"I'm so sorry. That is my car. I locked my keys and my human dog and my phone inside the car.' I said, ‘My human dog.' Because they need to understand this is more than a dog, it's a person."
When the man suggested calling AAA, Ripa admitted she was unfamiliar with the service.
"If I'm being honest, I don't know what AAA is," she said.
The man then helped her contact 911, but Ripa learned that police officers could not simply break into the vehicle. She was eventually directed to contact a tow company.
Ripa later shared that the man, whom she learned was named Leo, had been patient throughout the ordeal, even though he needed to return to the casino to help his wife.
"His wife was in the casino. He needed to bring her money," she explained, however, Leo was kind enough to direct casino security to sit with Ripa until the tow company arrived.
Although the entire incident lasted only about 20 minutes, Ripa admitted it felt much longer.
"It felt like three years," she recalled.
Ripa and Lena Were Finally Reunited
Once help arrived and Ripa was able to get back into the vehicle, she said both she and Lena were relieved.
“I sit down in the car. I fasten my seatbelt and Lena's head pops up. And she was like, ‘Oh, you have no idea.' She looked at me like, ‘There were strangers trying to break into this car. I stayed hidden,'" the mother-of-three quipped.
