The Fast Food Item Kelly Ripa Always Passes Off To Her Husband

On an episode of "Live with Kelly and Mark," Kelly Ripa and her husband, Mark Consuelos, discussed Burger King Thailand's viral extra-cheesy menu item, "The Real Cheese Burger," a bun stacked with just 20 slices of cheese — no meat or anything else. During the segment, Ripa said, "I see nothing wrong with that whatsoever," about the extreme cheeseburger, revealing she has a quirky habit at fast-food places.

Ripa explained that whenever she visits a fast food burger joint, she removes the meat patty and passes it off to her husband. "I eat the cheese, the stuff, and the bun because that, to me, is why I'm there," Ripa said. "I'm there for the stuff." Seems like a win-win for the couple, as Ripa gets all her favorite "stuff," and Consuelos gets an automatic upgrade to a double.

Ripa's choice to de-meat her burger isn't all that surprising, considering she's been open in the past about her mostly vegetarian diet. While she's not a strict vegetarian and does occasionally chow down on meat, her nutritionist has shared with several media outlets that she tends to eat mostly veggies, greens, nuts, and plant-based proteins in her daily diet. On the occasion that she does eat an animal protein, like salmon, it needs to be high-quality and only a small part of the meal.

Kelly Ripa might discard the meat on a fast-food burger, but she doesn't skip out on the cheese. During the episode, Ripa is ready to try a copycat version of Burger King Thailand's all-cheese burger. She even scoffs at her co-host husband's idea that they tweak the cheese used. "No, I want whatever that processed cheese is," Ripa says. "If I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it."

The audience audibly groans at the tower of American cheese piled on the show's copycat burger, but Ripa goes in for a big bite, saying it's "pretty good." The star has said in the past that cheese is one thing she just can't live without. In fact, she has fondly mentioned New Jersey's now-closed Masso's Deli & Pizzeria for their mozzarella cheese fries and said Goldfish crackers are a favorite snack. Out of all the popular Goldfish flavors, there are several cheese versions, and Ripa chowed down on the parmesan flavor while writing her book "Live Wire."

In April 2024, Ripa posted a story of the couple's In-N-Out order, followed by a pic of the wrappers with the caption, "Deleted." We don't know exactly what she ordered, but one of In-N-Out's secret menu items is a no-meat burger just the way Ripa likes it — the "Grilled Cheese," with just cheese, toppings (or "the stuff" as Ripa calls it), and bun.