Kelly Ripa looked so much like Ariana Grande when she dressed as the Academy Award-nominated star’s Wicked character for a pre-tapped bit opening Live with Kelly and Mark‘s annual After the Oscars Show, she decided to play a trick on husband Mark Consuelos.
In a conversation with PEOPLE to promote the special, Consuelos recalls receiving a call from Ripa’s assistant telling him that his wife wanted her to say hello to Grande over FaceTime.
“I was like, ‘What!? I’m not prepared for this,” Consuelos says. “And she completely fooled me because I when I grabbed the phone, I truly thought that was Grande.”
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Lorenzo Bevilaqua/WABC
Ripa’s ruse didn’t last for long. “It was very funny because I could see he was secretly annoyed and doing that fake nice thing at first. He was like, ‘Oh my gosh, hiiiii!.’ And then once I spoke, his face totally changed and he was like, ‘Wait a minute…’ ” she says.
Jokes Consuelos, “It was freaky!”
“He’s not the only one Ripa tricked. I FaceTimed her daughter and her best friend while I was in costume and fooled both of them, too,” she says. “It was great.”
Live with Kelly and Mark
Seeing Ripa in the costume, it’s clear to see why everyone was confused. In PEOPLE’s exclusive premiere of the clip, the All My Children actress is a dead-ringer for Grande, with makeup artist Kristofer Buckle and hairstylist Ryan Trygstad perfectly recreating the singer’s look in the film adaptation of the his stage musical.
She goes by “Kel-inda” in the segment. Consuelos takes on the role of Fiyero with his own twist, even joking about being PEOPLE’s Sexiest TV Host Alive.
“I’m basically playing Mark Consuelos with highlights in my hair,” he laughs.
WABC
Live‘s After the Oscars Show will see the couple co-hosting their New York City-based daytime talk series from the Dolby Theatre stage in Los Angeles on Monday, hours after the Academy Awards wraps.
In addition to the opening, the special will feature interviews Ripa and Consuelos have with winners directly from backstage, minutes after they clinch their trophies. The location serves as the perfect spot for some of the best celebrity interactions of the night.
“Being backstage is always really interesting,” says Consuelos, who last year experienced the frenzy for the first time. “Kelly has said it before but when they come to see us, they’re completely out of their body, so you really get those guttural reactions.”
“They’re very kind to us,” Ripa adds. “And this year in particular, we seem to know so many people involved, so we feel a very strong connection to this year’s show. It’s going to be a fun night.”
Lorenzo Bevilaqua/WABC
Comedian Nikki Glaser will appear as a guest, though over the years, others have been known to stop by after their win.
“It’s such a live-wire that show because we don’t know exactly what guests we’re going to have,” Ripa says. ” It really depends on who wins the Academy Award, so there’s no way to sort of properly promote the show because every year, it’s a mystery. We’re making decisions sometimes minutes before we go live. It’s shifting. And the buildup to it, all of the editing that goes into, the deciding what gets cut and what’s in the show — it’s a lot of decisions making and a lot of pressure on the fly.”
Viewers can also expect to see Jerry O’Connell, who will serve as the red carpet correspondent for Live, as well as a performance from Steve Aoki and Lil Jon.
“It means so much to us to do this,” Ripa shares, of the show. “To me, seeing our little show with our little staff on the big stage with all of those people in the audience — and I cannot say it enough, they line up so early to be a part of it, which is so kind of them — but it’s just incredible. We both just feel so much gratitude.”
There’s one other annual tradition Ripa and Consuelos have adopted over the years: a visit to In-N-Out on the way home. “That to me is the most exciting,” Ripa says. “I have cheeseburgers twice a year, and that is one of them, so it means something.”
Before even asking, Consuelos tells PEOPLE his order. “Two double doubles, animal style — that’s what I’m going to have,” he says.
“I don’t go crazy like he does. I just have a very sensible In-N-Out burger. Classic style,” Ripa shares. “But it fills me in a way that I can’t describe because, by that moment, I really feel like I’ve earned it.”
Live with Kelly and Mark‘s After the Oscars Show special airs Monday, March 3 in syndication (check local listings).
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