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During a discussion about pregnancy, motherhood and post-partum depression on the December 6 episode of her podcast, Let’s Talk Off Camera With Kelly Ripa, Kelly Ripa (ex-Hayley, ALL MY CHILDREN) talked about the pressure she felt to lost weight after giving birth to her first child, Michael, in 1997. The actress revealed to guest Hilarie Burton (ex-Peyton, ONE TREE HILL) that “I didn’t recognize my body” after welcoming Michael, having gained 68 pounds during the pregnancy. “I was on the soap, and I had to go back to work nine days after [Michael was born]. Nine days! Oh, it was brutal.” Making matters worse, “The wardrobe people were like, ‘We thought you’d be smaller by now.’ And I was like, ‘Well, I’m not going to be smaller anytime soon. I don’t know much, but here’s what I do know: this [pregnancy-related weight gain] looks like it’s going to be here for a while.”
Ann Limongello/ABC
From Here To Maternity: Ripa’s AMC alter, wed Mateo (Mark Consuelos, Ripa’s real-life husband) shortly before the actress gave birth to her oldest son, Michael, in 1997 — in a hospital bed designed to conceal the star’s pregnancy.
