Kelly Ripa, the spunky, chirpy host of “Live! With Kelly”, is so unfailingly perky and sweet, it’s hard to imagine her harboring a dark secret. And in a way, she doesn’t…but her husband does.

Mark Consuelos, the hunky Spanish/Italian actor who made Ripa his bride in 1996, apparently had to resort to shaking his money maker before they met.

According to Ripa, her hubs worked as a stripper in Florida right out of college while trying to break into the business and find his footing in a career. She even has an old pinup calendar to prove it.

“A lot of hot guys in Hollywood have done that. He was straight out of college, and he went to Notre Dame and finished his degree at the University of South Florida. So, there he was in South Florida, he’s gorgeous, looking to break into show business, so he started off as a roadie to a group of these guys, and then they talked him into stripping,” she said.

The couple approach Mark’s past with a sense of humor, saying sometimes you just have to do what you have to do to pay the bills. Mark, who is now a successful actor in his own right, has been rumored to be up for the co-hosting gig with Kelly on Live! but she shot it down, saying their marriage would never be the same if they worked together.