Here’s Why Mark Consuelos Almost Rejected All My Children Role

It’s hard to see anyone else take on the role of Mateo Santos on All My Children. But it could’ve happened. Mark Consuelos was almost passed for the role on the ABC daytime soap.

Soap Secrets

Secrets from the show were revealed during Susan Lucci in Conversation with Andy Cohen: All My Children at 55, which took place on Tuesday, January 14 in New York City. AMC’s casting director, Judy Blye Wilson, admitted it wasn’t easy to cast Consuelos for the role of Mateo.

“I don’t know why they were dragging their heels on it, but they actually had him play the role, so he started playing the role, and I had to continue to search for another person,” Wilson explained, per PEOPLE. “So we screen-tested Mark several times. Finally, I begged the producer, and she relinquished, and it turned out to be the best, one of the best parts I ever cast.”

During the screen test, Consuelos met his future wife, Kelly Ripa. He was cast as the love interest for her alter-ego, Hayley Vaughan. Wilson wasn’t the only one who felt that Consuelos was the best person for the role. She had to convince the execs that he was the perfect actor. They also had to chase Consuelos down since he assumed the role went to someone else.

Ripa and Consuelos’ Love Story

Wilson wasn’t the only one who wanted Consuelos for the role. Ripa was convinced that she had found the love of her life. Wilson remembered when she shared his headshot, and Ripa “really liked him, really.” Ripa recalled a similar story on a recent episode of LIVE! with Kelly and Mark. (Fellow AMC alum Sarah Michelle Gellar recalled that time when Ripa fell in love.)

She was convinced that it was love at first sight. It was as if her future flashed before her eyes. Consuelos revealed that he found Ripa attractive, but he wasn’t sure if she was interested in him. A year after they met on the set of the soap, they eloped in Las Vegas in 1996. Ripa and Consuelos share three children: Joaquin, Lola, and Michael.