Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone step into new territory days after wedding anniversary

Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone have had more than one thing to celebrate this month! 

The celebrity couple recently marked their 19th wedding anniversary on October 8, and on Monday, they opened up about a new territory they were stepping into together. 

Appearing on Good Morning America on October 14, the pair revealed that they were set to start their own podcast as a couple, called “Hildy the Barback and the Lake of Fire”, and spoke about it on the ABC daytime show dressed in medieval costumes. 

What’s more, the GMA studio had a castle-themed backdrop especially for their appearance. 

“Our girls are in this show, and Glenn Close, but not at the same time…” Ben teased. “It’s such a fun group of people and we get to chase dragons!” Melissa added. 

© GMA

The actress had previously shared an announcement about their podcast, again dressed up in costume, on her Instagram feed earlier in October. 

She captioned the footage: “We are so excited to birth our new dragon baby! We made Hildy the Barback and the Lake of Fire because we wanted to laugh with our funny, talented friends – we’re so happy we did. We hope you love it as much as we do! Trailer out now – available Oct 25 wherever you get your podcasts. Link in bio.”

© Kevin Mazur/VF24

The couple’s daughters have kept largely out of the spotlight, so this will be the first time fans will get an insight into their family dynamics. They are the proud parents of teenage daughters Vivian, 16, and Georgette, 14. 

Melissa previously opened up about parenting teenagers, revealing just what they think of their famous mom, during an interview with People in 2023. 

She revealed that her daughters have a nickname for her when she is being fun, called “Midway Mom.” 

“We were coming back from visiting my parents and we went through the Midway Airport in Chicago. And for some reason everything they asked for, I was like, ‘Sure, get it. Two of them. You want a Coke?’ And they were just like, ‘What’s going on?’ ‘Can we have Doritos?’ ‘Yep.’ Anything they said. ‘Can we get sweatshirts?’ ‘You sure can.’ Like everything. I was like, ‘You want a beer cozy?’ And they were like, ‘Midway Mom’s awesome.'” 

© VALERIE MACON

Melissa and Ben love having their teenagers at home and the actress admitted that she was finding it hard imagining either of them leaving to go to college in the not too distant future. 

She told the publication when asked how she was feeling about the future prospect: “Nope, because it’s never going to happen. One of my daughters was talking about maybe going to school in Scotland. And literally Ben’s like ‘Your lip’s twitching.’ 

© Kevin Mazur

“And then she did walk past me the next day and she was like, ‘Mama, no. You’re looking up apartments in Scotland.’ And I was like, ‘I can get an apartment in Scotland. You can’t legally stop me.'”