Kelly Ripa Still Fits Into Her $199 Wedding Dress — 20 Years Later

Kelly Ripa has had a big week. Since her Live! co-host Michael Strahan announced his departure from the show, Ripa has been the focus of extreme media attention (down to the books she’s carrying). In the brouhaha that ensued over her absence from the show late last week, it was easy to overlook that Ripa was, in fact, taking a long-planned vacation with her husband, Mark Consuelos, to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary.

Upon her return to Live! yesterday, Ripa addressed the recent drama, and then quickly slid back into her usual routine, sharing a little bit about her trip, including a photo of her and Consuelos.

“See that dress? That’s my wedding dress. And guess what? It still fits,” she told the audience. The dress, which she bought for just $199 on sale, actually predates her marriage by five years. “I didn’t buy it as a wedding dress. I just bought it because it was really pretty and I wanted to buy something from the Barney’s Warehouse Sale… And I said to myself, ‘I bet if I buy this, maybe it will be an investment piece. Maybe I’ll wear it more than once.’” She and her husband met while costarring on All My Children and eloped to Las Vegas less than a year later. Ripa confessed that while her dress has “stood the test of fashion time,” no one knows what became of Consuelos' suit. [ET]