Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos have been very public about their excitement over becoming empty nesters, the actual process of dropping their youngest son, Joaquin, off at college proved tough for the couple. On Tuesday's, Ripa, 50, talked about taking Joaquin to the University of Michigan where he started as a freshman last month. «We became empty nesters. We took our youngest son to college, we dropped him off,» Ripa shared with co-host Ryan Seacrest.