Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos are known for their spicy banter on Live With Kelly and Mark, but the couple’s conversation took an especially scandalous turn on one recent episode.
During her appearance on the morning show this week, Jessi Ngatikaura of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives gave the married co-hosts a lesson in Mormon rules and terminology, from drinking “dirty sodas” instead of coffee to not being allowed to wear tank tops or other revealing clothing, as Decider reported.
After a clip of the cast dancing in a TikTok played, Ripa had to admit she was surprised.
“This, to me, does not conjure up, like, what in my brain, in my limited knowledge, what Mormonism is, I don’t think that,” she said.
When Ngatikaura asked her to elaborate, Consuelos jumped in, saying, “A little more reserved, maybe.”
Ngatiakaura went on to point out that the cast’s atypical behavior was the key to the show’s success.
Related: Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos Share Unexpected Career Update
“I think that’s the other thing is it’s moms who were like maybe not the cookie-cutter, so I think that got attention, too. And then we had a swinging scandal which helped,” she said.
Consuelos was curious to hear more details about the scandal (which involved Ngatikaura’s co-star, Taylor Frankie Paul, revealing that she and her husband participated in “soft swinging” with other Mormon couples).
“Can you explain what soft swinging is?” Ripa asked.
“Soft swinging is, like, not going all the way,” Ngatikaura explained with a laugh.
“That’s like your thing, right?” Ripa noted, with Ngatikaura agreeing, “Yeah, Mormons love that.”
But Consuelos was still confused.
“Wait, wait, wait,” he said.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Decider.com (@deciderdotcom)
“Mark’s like, what’s the point?” Ripa quipped.
“Third base?” Consuelos asked, still trying to understand the concept.
“Yeah,” Ngatikaura nodded, going on to say that the scandal worked in her favor (even though she wasn’t directly involved).
“And I think that got the attention of television, which was lucky for us,” she said, adding, “But we definitely carry that as a badge of honor. Like everyone’s like, ‘You’re the swingers!’”
Related: Kelly Ripa Is Unrecognizable in Rare Throwback Video From the ’80s
