Mark Consuelos Reacts to His PEOPLE’s Sexiest TV Show Host Victory After 'Pulling for' Jimmy Fallon: 'America Has Spoken' (Exclusive)
The ‘Live with Kelly and Mark’ host’s second consecutive victory comes after a public back-and-forth with competitor Fallon
After being crowned PEOPLE’s Sexiest TV Show Host Alive (his second consecutive year taking home a readers' choice vote) Mark Consuelos is relishing in the victory — even though he was rooting for competitor Jimmy Fallon to eke out a win.
During the Oct. 29 episode of Live with Kelly and Mark, Consuelos’ wife and co-host, Kelly Ripa, revealed the first few winners from the 2024 Sexiest Man Alive readers' choice poll, including the Sexiest TV Show Host Alive 2024 winner: Consuelos.
After beating out Seth Meyers, Mario Lopez and the highly competitive Fallon, 50, in what he jokingly dubbed “the most important election of our time,” Consuelos, 53, appeared quite pleased — despite “pulling for” The Tonight Show host with his own votes.
Related: All the Stars Campaigning for Sexiest Man Alive, from Will Ferrell to Kevin Hart
After Ripa, 54, read the results and showered the 2024 winner with swag — including a “Sexiest Host” trophy complete with a mirror — the Live with Kelly and Mark audience called for a speech, and Consuelos obliged.
“I’d like to thank all the other nominees, especially Jimmy Fallon,” he said with a laugh, “for putting that QR code on his television program.”
“I did vote for Jimmy. I'm sure it was very close,” he continued. “I voted for him multiple times. I think my family voted for him, but America has spoken.”
Related: The Surprising Jobs Worked by the Sexiest Men Alive Before They Were Famous
After issuing some ribbing toward the The Tonight Show host — who campaigned hard for the title — Consuelos turned to his wife and co-host, declaring, “Truly, the only time I feel sexy is with you,” which elicited a sarcastic response. “That is a bunch of B.S.,” joked Ripa, 54.
Consuelos finished his victory lap by expressing some gratitude for those who elected him over Fallon — “that’s really, really nice” — as well as PEOPLE and the Live with Kelly and Mark team behind his Sexiest TV Show Host swag.
And, when asked if he feels any “sexier" after clinching the honor for the second consecutive year, Consuelos replied, “No. I feel exactly the same … once you become a dad, you don't really … you see yourself through your kids eyes, and that's when the sexy just goes away, I think.”
“Okay well, thank you PEOPLE Magazine for embarrassing our children,” Ripa concluded.
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Consuelos’ victory — alongside fellow readers' choice poll winners like Sexiest New Heartthrob Jacob Elordi and Sexiest Musician Harry Styles — comes after a tough (and very public) back-and-forth with Fallon.
Related: The 'Sexy' Degrees of Separation: How We Connected Every Single Past Sexiest Man Alive
Upon learning he had been nominated in September, Fallon joked on The Tonight Show that both Lopez and Consuelos should take themselves out of the running. In response, Consuelos stayed in the race but cast his vote (and his mom's) for the host, he revealed on Instagram. “You’re a shoe-in,” the Live with Kelly and Mark said at the time.
And, reacting to his victory in an exclusive chat with PEOPLE, Consuelos revealed that the pair even discussed the competition off-camera. "Yeah, we definitely tons of texts and just hilarious when he ran his campaign ad, his hatchet job against me," the host told PEOPLE. "I died."
"And we laughed so hard about it. And I absolutely did vote for him," he continued, adding that hos "only concern" was their faux beef potentially "splitting the vote" and making way for a Meyers or Lopez victory.
PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive will be revealed on Nov. 12; until then, follow along with our poll winners and so much more here.
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