Kelly Ripa reveals she thought she was fluent in dolphin language

Kelly Ripa once thought she could communicate with dolphins. The Live with Kelly and Mark host revealed she tried to test her presumed gift during a trip to Mexico. The conversation sparked after she discussed with her husband and co-host, Mark Consuelos, how technological developments might help with animal communication.

Ripa said it happened while celebrating a friend's birthday. "They rented a boat for sunset cocktails. All of a sudden, in the water, we were surrounded by wild dolphins," she recalled, remembering she "had just done the show in Miami, and we'd gone to the Seaquarium, and I swam with the dolphins.

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"We were doing a taped piece where we communicate with the dolphins. So I, Kelly Ripa, jump into the water, and I go, 'I know how to talk to the dolphins!' I'm like, 'I'm going to call them over!'" she added.

"Our friend Brian was standing on the bow of the boat and he's going, 'Kel, get back in the boat. Those are wild dolphins, those aren't trained dolphins,' " she continued. "But, in my mind, I thought I could talk to the dolphins because I'd spoken so fluently to them."

Kelly's most recent trip involved no water creature, but she traveled to join a Disney event. She wrote that she was "honored and excited to join the 2024 class of Disney Legends at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event."Ripa expressed excitement at being honored by Disney and astonishedly shared the news on her show. Consuelos voiced his support, saying, "I think you absolutely do belong. And I'm really, really proud of you."

During her Let's Talk Off Camera podcast, the longtime talk show host admitted to being shocked while speaking with Disney CEO Bob Iger. "Again, [it was] one of the moments where I thought Deborah OConnell was playing an April Fools' prank on me," Ripa admitted. "Why me? You needed a real person in there to sort of stabilize. There's a lot of greatness, but then they're like, 'Okay. How do we honor regular people? Kelly?'"

Ripa said, "Disney Legends is basically the equivalent of Disney Hall of Fame."

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Iger told Ripa that she "have contributed mightily, not just to our success, but to what we represent to the world."

"Ultimately, I approve this list," he continued. "And, actually, I thought, well, why didn't we think of that earlier? You actually have been worthy for a while. And I think it it speaks volumes about not only you, but the show too that you've been on now for so long and that we value."