Kelly Ripa Says Her Role on All My Children Was One of the ‘Biggest Roles’ of Her Life

The Live with Kelly and Ryan co-host recently participated in an episode of NBC’s Reunion Road Trip. Per E! News, Eva LaRue (who portrayed Mario Santos Grey on the popular series), organized the special event, which featured co-stars Cameron Mathison (Ryan Lavery), Jacob Young (JR Chandler) and Rebecca Budig (Greenlee Smythe). Set at an exclusive Hollywood mansion, the get-together was held to celebrate the soap’s 50th anniversary, covering everything from crazy storylines to off-camera romances.

In addition, the episode also featured visits from former cast members Susan Lucci (Erica Kane), Alicia Minshew (Kendall Hart), Darnell Williams (Jesse Hubbard) and, of course, Kelly Ripa (Hayley Vaughan Santos).

“I was only 19 years old on the show and playing the role of Hayley Vaughan, which was one of the biggest roles of my life," Ripa said during the installment, per E! News. "It's where I met my husband Mark [Consuelos]. I still consider my dear friends from the show my family and I miss every single one of them."

If you didn’t know, Ripa joined the cast in late 1990 when she was just 20 years old and stayed on for 12 years. Despite Ripa’s inexperience, Vaughan quickly became one of the most popular characters on the show.

“Kelly started on the show about three years before I got there, but the second we met, it was kindred spirits," LaRue added. "It was game-on friendship. She was the sweetest girl, so to see her catapulted into stardom, I think everybody was excited."

Who knew one role could be so life-changing for Kelly?

You can watch the full episode of Reunion Road Trip here, as well as on Peacock TV.

Stay up-to-date on every breaking Kelly Ripa story by subscribing here.