Mark Consuelos reflected on his grief journey after the death of his dad Saul Consuelos: "The reality of him being gone hit—of him actually being gone."
Mark Consuelos Emotionally Shares Death of His Dad Saul Consuelos
Mark Consuelos is navigating his grief journey.
More than one month after the Live With Kelly and Mark cohost shared that his dad Saul Consuelos died at age 87 following a lengthy health battle, Mark shared how he has been coping with the loss.
"It was kind of a brutal five-month saga leading up to him passing," he said on the May 12 episode of the I've Never Said This Before With Tommy DiDario podcast, per People. "I knew it was happening. We all knew this is going to happen."
Mark had prayed for "a merciful exit" and was glad that the patriarch's passing happened "very quickly and painlessly."
But while the 55-year-old—who shares kids Michael, 28, Lola, 24, and Joaquin, 23, with wife Kelly Ripa—had prepared for Saul's death, it was still difficult to accept.
"My father's a mythical character to me," he explained. "He's the best man I've ever met. Everything good that I've kind of glommed onto of how I carry myself comes from him."
And in recent weeks, the loss of his father is feeling all the more real.
"I guess what I haven't said is, I miss my dad," Mark said. "I've never said that. I've never said, 'I miss my dad' because he's always been in my life, he's always been available to me."
"I'm going to miss just giving him a hug and holding his hand and just laughing with him," he continued. "That's something I've never said in my life. I'm going to miss my dad."
It was a feeling that only grew stronger when Saul's loved ones honored him with an official goodbye.
"We just had a memorial for him this past Monday, where the family all got together," Mark said during the interview, which was filmed May 1. "And the reality of him being gone hit—of him actually being gone."
The All My Children alum shared the news of Saul's passing on Live With Kelly and Mark in April, telling the audience that his dad had "passed away peacefully."
Kelly—who tied the knot with Mark in 1996—reflected on her own relationship with her father-in-law.
"You have been blessed more because you knew him your whole life," she told Mark during their chat. "I only got to know my father-in-law for 31 years, but they were the best 31 years of my life. I can honestly say I will miss him every day for the rest of my life, as I know you will, as our children will."
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