Mark Consuelos Was Confused for the Late Regis Philbin at a Knicks Game
Mark Consuelos was recently mistaken for his Live predecessor Regis Philbin at a New York Knicks game.
During the Tuesday, March 26, episode of Live With Kelly and Mark, Consuelos, 52, told his wife and cohost, Kelly Ripa, that a “lady thought I was Regis” when he was spotted eating in the owner’s lounge at Madison Square Garden.
“She goes, ‘You’re Regis!’” Consuelos recalled. “I said, ‘I’m not! I’m not. But let’s talk!’”
Consuelos chuckled at the confusion, acknowledging that he “knew what she meant” by implying that he was Ripa’s cohost. “She was like, ‘He’s very muscular!’ And I go, ‘That’s me!'” he teased.
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The woman eagerly informed him that she watched his show every morning. In response, Consuelos turned to the camera to extend her a personal greeting.
“If you’re watching, hi!” Consuelos said on Tuesday.
Philbin died at the age of 88 in 2020. He began hosting Live! in the 1980s with Kathie Lee Gifford before Ripa, 53, took over as cohost in 2001. Philbin made his final appearance on the daytime show 10 years later in 2011. Ripa continued to be a mainstay on the series and was joined by Ryan Seacrest in 2017.
Us Weekly confirmed Seacrest’s exit in February 2023 after nearly six years. At the time, Consuelos was announced as his replacement.
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“Mark and I owe everything we have in our professional lives to ABC. We met there at the beginning of our careers and got married and had our kids while there,” Ripa exclusively told Us, referring to her and Consuelos’ time on the soap opera All My Children. “So many wonderful moments have happened while with ABC, so it only makes sense for us to come full circle and work together once again for the show that has given us so much joy and so many years of memories.”
Consuelos, meanwhile, joked that he and Ripa “might as well finish” their careers together, too. “We figured the idea ‘what could possibly go wrong?’ is something we’d definitely like to explore,” he said in February 2023. “Now, we have the chance.”
The couple’s first official episode as cohosts aired in April 2023, and Consuelos has fit right in. “I had no concerns about how well he was going to do and he really proved me right,” Ripa gushed to Us following his debut. “I’m so proud of him, but I was never worried.”
Even Seacrest, 49, had high hopes for his replacement. “I’ve been watching Kelly and Mark and they’re doing great,” he told E! News in April 2023. “I hope to see them and hang out soon in the wild, as Kelly would say.”
