The Bachelor star Joey Graziadei joined co-hosts Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos on this morning’s taping of Live with Kelly and Mark — and just as their chat was nearing its end, Ripa snuck in one final question surrounding the newly announced program in the reality TV franchise.

“Real quick, there’s been talk that Kathie Lee Gifford will be the Golden Bachelorette,” she explained. “Any thoughts on that?”

Graziadei issued an extremely candid response.

“I will be honest, I have no idea who Kathie Lee Gifford is,” he admitted.

Consuelos hinted that she used to occupy the very chair he was sitting in, referring to her tenure as co-host of Live with Regis and Kathie Lee from 1985 to 2000.

In response to the uproar from the live studio audience, Graziadei pleaded, “I’m only 28! I’m sorry!”

Ripa supported Graziadei, telling the audience, “He’s only 28, calm down.”

She then quipped, “They do have that Google machine, you know.”

While news broke on Feb. 10 at the Television Critics Association’s 2024 winter tour that The Golden Bachelor spinoff had been confirmed, the buzz around Gifford being a potential candidate spurred after last Monday’s (Feb. 12) episode of The Today Show, where co-hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager eagerly suggested her name in unison to E! News host Justin Sylvester, per Good Housekeeping.

While Kotb argued Gifford, who used to be her co-host on Today, “would be perfect,” Bush Hager clarified that this is “unconfirmed.”

As for Graziadei, Ripa and Consuelos offered up their own advice for Bachelor Nation’s favorite tennis player, particularly surrounding the drama that ensued between contestants Maria Georgas and Sydney Gordon.

Graziadei highlighted that ultimately “his connection with Maria was always stronger” and that the two girls “got lost in some moment.”

“Instead of focusing on our connection, they were focusing on each other,” he added. “And that’s something that hurts all of us.”

Consuelos chimed in, “Joey, if you would’ve called me, I would’ve said, ‘Joey, never trust a snitch.'”

Ripa echoed Consuelos’ sentiment toward Gordon, telling Graziadei, “When you have a bachelorette that is trying to work an angle of ‘you shouldn’t pick this girl because,’ that’s a red flag.”

She even conceived the idea of becoming the show’s “opposite mentor” and handing Graziadei “red flags” as opposed to “red roses” in what she would brand “the red flag ceremony.”

Live with Kelly and Mark airs on weekdays. Check out their website for your local listings.