Romneys discuss pop culture with Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan

Mitt Romney occasionally snores. Ann Romney hogs the covers and squeezes the toothpaste tube in the middle and leaves the cap off. And what does the GOP presidential nominee wear to bed?

“I hear the best answer is as little as possible,” Romney said in an interview with ABC’s “Live With Kelly and Michael” that will air Tuesday.

The GOP nominee and his wife sat down with Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan on Friday, and showed a side rarely visible on the campaign trail, opening up about their personal lives and flashing their pop culture credentials.

“Modern Family” is their favorite television show, but they seem less enamored by Kim Kardashian and her clan.

Co-host Kelly Ripa inquired, “Do you keep up with the Kardashians?”

“Who keeps up with the Kardashians? Who can keep up with the Kardashians?” Ann Romney replied.

Asked to pick between Snooki of “Jersey Shore” fame, and Honey Boo Boo, a young beauty pageant contestant from “Toddlers & Tiaras,” Romney chose the former.

“I’m kind of a Snooki fan,” he said. “Look how tiny she’s gotten. She’s lost weight. She’s energetic. Just her spark-plug personality is kind of fun.”

They also offered an unusual glimpse of a Republican whose path they would like to follow, former President George W. Bush. Asked to recount their most embarrassing moments, Ann Romney described sleeping over at the White House and “exploring” with Anita Perry, the wife of Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

“Anita and I were like, ‘We wonder what’s behind this door?’ It was George Bush having a massage,” Ann Romney said. “He was covered up but I was so embarrassed that the next time I did see him I didn’t know what I was going to say to him. We were going down the elevator from the White House going to an event together and I walked up to the elevator and am just like blushing, blushing, blushing, and he looks at me and he winks as he does and says, ‘I look pretty good, don’t I?’”

That was probably the most risqué part of the segment. Other parts of the interview reinforced the wholesome image of the Romney family – how they met while teenagers at a party, even their guilty pleasures. Ann Romney chose doughnuts, while her husband’s preference: “peanut butter sandwiches and chocolate milk.”

Seema.mehta@latimes.com
@LATSeema