Key Points
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos have secretly decorated a public NYC Christmas spot for years.
The couple tells EW that they turned a seven-year construction site into their personal Christmas wonderland.
“People put their kids in front of it and take photos,” Ripa says.
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos have secretly sprinkled some sweet holiday cheer on an otherwise unsightly public space in New York City — until now.
The couple and Live With Kelly & Mark cohosts exclusively reveal to Entertainment Weekly that, for years, they’ve decorated a construction site near their home with fabulous Christmas décor, inspiring passersby to stop and take photos with the display without ever knowing about the famous minds behind the presentation.
“We sort of decorate the front of our house. Next door is a construction site, and they’ve let me decorate the construction site,” Ripa tells EW on the set of Live With Kelly & Mark in Manhattan, where we observe the daytime TV staples filming their special Christmas Eve episode following a week of yuletide festivities on the air.
Adela Loconte/Variety via Getty
Kelly Ripa, Mark Consuelos at Family Equality’s Night in New York, New York
Consuelos describes the decked-out site as having “a green-paneled wall, like a Tiffany box,” which Ripa says she puts “a big red ribbon on” to spruce it up each winter since the construction project began several years ago.
“I asked them, they were like, sure!” Ripa says. “People put their kids in front of it and take photos!”
The couple haven’t publicly acknowledged that they’re the secret holiday decorators, and have even received Christmas cards from acquaintances that include photos from the area, without the senders knowing that Ripa and Consuelos provided the trimmings.
“This has been a seven-year construction project. The past few years, they don’t know it’s us! But, they’ll send a Christmas card of their kids in front of our house, to us, and I love that,” Ripa notes. “I think it’s so nice. They’re like, ‘Dear homeowner, this is our holiday photo!'”
The 55-year-old takes joy in knowing that “they have no idea,” laughing as she exclaims, “Now they’ll know it’s us! It’s sweet.”
Ripa and Consuelos’ admission comes weeks after fellow ABC personality Whoopi Goldberg revealed on The View’s Behind the Table podcast that she, too, engages in secret seasonal behavior to lift the public’s spirits.
Lorenzo Bevilaqua/Disney via Getty
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos on ‘Live With Kelly and Mark’
“I just feel like everybody needs a little help, and if you can help somebody… it’s why I try to do Santa at the post office. I try to get letters and we try to answer kids’ letters to Santa,” the 70-year-old said in November.
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“It’s a thing we can do, and it doesn’t cost a lot,” Goldberg added. “Because you want to give people the ability to do something that brings up how they see themselves.”
Live With Kelly and Mark airs weekdays in syndication — including seasonally themed run-ups to the show’s annual Christmas episode, which is set to air on Christmas Eve. Check your local listings for timing in your area.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly