Jan Kramer wanted to be The Masked Singer since it debuted in 2019 – but her husband, Allan Russellwas a bit more skeptical about the singing competition show.

“I was so excited when I got the text, I was sitting there on the couch with my husband,” Kramer, 40, told exclusively We weekly prior to her elimination on Thursday, November 28 from the Fox series. “I just started screaming, and my husband said, ‘What?’ And I’m like, ‘I just got an offer The Masked Singer.’ And he says, ‘The what?’ And I’m like, ‘The Masked Singer. Don’t you know what that is?’”

Kramer – whose costume was the Royal Knight – showed Russell, 43, clips from the show, which she often watches with her children, but he was still a little shocked by images of contestants performing in huge, elaborate costumes.

“He said, ‘And you want to do that?’” Kramer recalled. “And I’m like, ‘Yes, I do. Like 1000 percent!’ He was confused…but I was so excited.”

Although Russell was unaware of Masked Singer’s knowledge, Kramer’s children completely agreed with her decision to do the show – and almost blew up her spot with their friends. (Kramer shares daughter Jolie, 8, and son Jace, 5, with ex-husband Mike Caussinwhile she and Russell welcomed son Roman in November 2023.)

“They told their friends at school and said, ‘Hey, you should really watch it.’ The Masked Singer,” Kramer said, laughing. “And I thought, ‘Jolie, you can’t say that. You can’t tell them it’s mommy.’ She said, ‘I won’t do that, Mom! I’m just saying, ‘You know, you should really look into it.’

While Kramer’s children have always known it was their mother under the Royal Knight mask, her other family members didn’t know — and she was excited to finally spill the beans with this week’s special Thanksgiving episode. However, one person immediately suspected that Kramer was on the show.

“My sister-in-law texted me last week and said, ‘When are you going to tell us you have an alter ego called the Royal Knight?'” the ‘Whine Down’ host said. “So they figured it out slowly, and mostly I just played a little crazy.”

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Although Kramer signed up for The Masked Singer partly to make her family smile, the experience also ultimately brought her unexpected joy. She has released two of her own albums and several singles, but singing as the Royal Knight gave her more confidence in her talents.

“I feel like I allowed myself so much more fun while wearing a mask,” Kramer explained. “I just have to go out there and really just be myself. When I go on stage, I often feel like I’m not a shy person, but I do think, ‘Oh man, I want to make sure I hit every note.’ Where I never hit every note, but I feel like I’m more insecure. But when I was working there The Masked Singerit’s like I felt so confident and had fun. I think that’s what I missed when I was on stage other times.”

The Masked Singer airs on Fox Wednesdays at 8pm ET. New episodes stream the next day on Hulu.