Kelly Ripa is opening up about her past experience with the gender pay gap throughout her career in the entertainment industry, and is reminding fans how hard she has worked to find success as a woman.
In recent interview with Bustle, the daytime talk show host, 50, revealed that she was paid significantly less than her husband, Mark Consuelos, for doing the exact same job despite having significantly less experience than Ripa, Entertainment News reports.
Ripa starred alongside Consuelos in the 1995 TV show “All My Children” before the two fell in love and married in 1996.
"I watched my husband who had no acting experience when he got his job at 'All My Children,' much the same way I had no acting experience," she shared. "But I got my job in 1990 and I think he got his job in '95. And he was paid more than me immediately. It was immediate. I just couldn't believe how quickly they were willing to pay the man more than the woman,” Ripa stated.
Ripa and Consuelos have been married for 25 years. Ripa believes that the same gender inequality she faced decades ago still exists in her career today.
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"It's bothered me ever since," the actress shared. "I've earned everything I've had over the course of 30 years of working for the same company, whereas I think that men still don't have an understanding of how hard women have to work to have the opportunity to say this statement that I'm saying right now."
Although the TV host has found major success as a co-host on “Live! With Regis & Kelly,” the star is reminding her fans of how hard she worked to earn her spot.
"People will say, ‘Oh, but she earns such a good living,' she told the outlet. "Yeah, I do, because I really worked hard for it."
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