Kelly Ripa Reveals Embarrassing Throwback Prom Photo Ahead of ‘Live’ Special

Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest are trying to bring some joy to viewers during Friday morning’s Live With Kelly and Ryan episode with “Live’s At-Home Prom.” In a preview of the special on Thursday, the two shared their prom photos and Ripa’s was an incredible 1980s flashback. The embarrassing photo shows off Ripa’s huge “big New Jersey hair” and she unknowingly got the effect by dipping her comb in 7 Up.

In a preview clip shared with E! News, Ripa told Seacrest she wanted “really, really, really” curly hair. She set her hair with “spongy pink rollers for extra curl” and dipped the comb in the water “because I like to set it at night so that when I woke up in the morning, it was super curly.” Surprisingly, Ripa was really dipping her comb into a cup of 7 Up that she mistook for water! “And so when I took my hair out of the pink foamy spongy rollers and went to comb through it…the proof is in the pudding,” Ripa explained. “Listen, I couldn’t get a comb through that hair for days.”

Seacrest’s prom photo was not quite as eye-opening. He was seen standing in a tux, showing off the smile that would come in handy as a television host. He said his favorite prom night memory was him and his friends taking a limo to a restaurant for dinner. The restaurant was only a mile from the venue, but the limo caused a major hold-up. “It took about 30 minutes because that limo was so long it can’t turn or get in the parking lot,” Seacrest said. “We ended up having our meal at Bennigan’s and then making it to the prom and getting home all safely and on time.”

While “Live’s At-Home Prom” will not make up for the canceled proms across the country for the high school classes of 2020, Seacrest and Ripa are doing their best to host a party for students. Jersey Shore star DJ Pauly D is providing the music, while TikTok star Addison Rae will show off some dance moves. The band AJR is also performing their new song “Bang!”

Last year, Ripa and husband Mark Conseulos had an exciting prom season. Their daughter Lola Conseulos had her senior prom, and the teenager altered her dress without her parents’ permission. The green dress had a very low-cut v neckline, as seen in Instagram photos Ripa shared at the time. “That’s the prom dress that we had made and she had altered behind our back,” Ripa told Jerry O’Connell in August. “So that’s why the girls are fully on display. Everybody came down the stairs together. And I just mean Lola.”