'The Masked Singer': Jenny McCarthy Felt 'Complete Shame' Over Not Recognizing Husband Donnie Wahlberg

A lot of work went into keeping The Masked Singer panelist Jenny McCarthy in the dark when it came to husband Donnie Wahlberg's secret role as Cluedle-Doo. After the Blue Bloods actor was unmasked as the anonymous trickster on the FOX singing competition, shocking his wife completely, the couple paid a virtual visit to The Talk to discuss what exactly was going through McCarthy's mind during that reveal.

"What was going through my mind was complete shame, because I like to brag that I'm you know, one of the best panelists. I won the Golden Ear; I know people's voices. And when he took that mask off, I was in total shock," McCarthy admitted, having previously guessed it was Akon under the rooster mask. "I literally lost my footing and was shaking for about an hour."

Confusing McCarthy even more was her husband's work schedule, as Wahlberg was shooting Blue Bloods in New York while The Masked Singer taped in Los Angeles. "The commute was complicated," he joked. "My main thing was, you know, how am I going to get over on Jenny, because we FaceTime sleep together. We're together all the time even when we're not together." Wahlberg remembered speaking to McCarthy and her fellow panelists Ken Jeong, Nicole Scherzinger and Robin Thicke maybe 45 minutes before he performing, getting on FaceTime while in his Blue Bloods attire to throw her off his scent.

"So even though I think a few of [the panelists] actually might have suspected it was me, they just spoke to me on FaceTime and were certain I was in New York," Wahlberg added. "So I made sure that the last thought they had of me, or if my name came up in their heads, they would say wait a minute, no I just talked to him. He's in New York, it's impossible."

Wahlberg's appearance on The Talk turned emotional when co-host Amanda Kloots revealed that he had reached out to her while her husband, Nick Cordero, was battling COVID-19 last year prior to his tragic death. "I was really blessed to work with Nick. He was so fun, so outgoing, and just larger than life," Wahlberg told Kloots, calling her an "inspiration" throughout Cordero's coma and COVID battle. He continued, "I can see why you were the love of his life. You, in the most trying of times, were just a ray of light and positivity."