Live Kelly Ripa Battles Backstage To Avoid Talking About Hot Topic On Air

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos talk about a variety of hot topics on Live With Kelly and Mark. Yet, Kelly recently got into a backstage battle over one subject she refused to discuss. So, what had her so heated? Keep reading for more details.

Kelly Ripa Could Not Take This Topic

There is so much to chat about between Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos. They have been married for thirty years and have three children. Therefore, their lives are perfect fodder. Moreover, they look at what is going on in the world and are more than happy to bring that to their Live viewers. Yet, sometimes things come up that need to be discussed but throw the hosts for a loop. Such was the case on the Tuesday, November 3rd show when Kelly saw one of the topics, and she threw a fit.

It was time to talk about Dictionary.com’s word of the year, which was “maxxing.” Kelly could not imagine having a full-on discussion about this word, so she fought to not have to talk about it. Clearly, she did not win, so when it came time to bring it up, she shared how she had a fight backstage:

“Do you want to hear about the word of the year, everybody? We had a big fight backstage. Oh, we had quite a fight.”

When Kelly Ripa said what the word was, the audience looked at her blankly. That was when she felt validated in her anger, as it was clear this word was ridiculous. The Live host then went on to explain it more:

“I wouldn’t have picked this word. Like ‘looksmaxxing.’ Have you heard of this? Looksmaxxing? Right, our audience has not heard of it.”

She knew that no one would understand what it meant, and that made her feel great. Ultimately, she claimed that they were “sleepmaxxing.”

What Does It Mean?

The audience was visibly baffled, and Kelly Ripa looked at Michael Gelman to tell him that she knew this would happen. So, what does this word mean? Per Dictionary.com, “Maxxing is a word that refers to the practice of pursuing an activity to the fullest or optimizing a certain aspect of your life.” Over time, Mark Consuelos started to find uses for the word, while Kelly was still not a fan. Time will tell if this word is worthy of being the best of the best for 2026.

Do you agree with Kelly Ripa that this is not the word that should have been chosen? Finally, what word would you have selected? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Amanda has been a professional freelance writer for over a decade, holding both a BA and an MA. Her passions include animals, iced coffee, gnomes, summer, music, and ‘Vanderpump Rules’.

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