Kelly Ripa has certainly experienced her fair share of bizarre travel moments, but nothing could’ve prepared her for what happened on a recent European adventure. While chatting with husband and co-host Mark Consuelos during a lighthearted summer segment on Live With Kelly and Mark, the daytime queen launched into a story that started as innocent vacation chatter. But quickly took a very unexpected and disgusting turn.
What began as a casual ride on an airport tram quickly spiraled into one of the most shockingly unpleasant encounters of her life. Thanks to a fellow passenger who turned an ordinary commute into a full-blown nightmare.
While reading the results of a summer survey listing “sweaty body odor” as one of the season’s most notable smells, Kelly Ripa had a very real, very smelly flashback. It all started when she opted to brace herself against a train pole, avoiding the dreaded hand straps because, in her words, “anybody touching the strap is a freak.”
Unfortunately, this clever travel hack didn’t save her from the aromatic nightmare that followed. Ripa explained how a tall, presumably exhausted European man decided to post up directly in front of her. Close enough for a full-frontal armpit ambush, and for Kelly Ripa to test out her gag reflex control according to EW.
Kelly Ripa Gags As Personal Space Gets Violated
Kelly comically explained how she tried to maintain her balance with a strategic squat. However, the mystery man planted his rank armpit just inches from her face. It was a scent so bad the daytime talk show host didn’t think she could make it through the entire ride.
However, an understanding passenger saw, and likely smelled, the uncomfortable position that Kelly Ripa was in and came to her rescue. “Not the armpit in my face directly, right? That’s aggressive. That’s a sign of war,” Ripa exclaimed.
“And the woman who is standing with her children in the corner says, ‘Come over here,’ so she let me share her cheek space with my cheek. So now we have four cheeks, two adult women, two children, on one pole, crowding away from Captain Armpit.”
In the grand scheme of travel nightmares, Kelly Ripa’s smelly showdown is one for the memory books. From cheek-sharing with strangers to dodging armpit ambushes, her European violation adventure turned into a full-blown nasal assault. It’s a reminder that no matter how famous you are, nothing protects you from public transportation, or the funk that comes with it.
Sabrina Russell 
Kenna Raye 
