Andy Cohen Celebrates RHOC's 18th Anniversary with an Epic Throwback Photo
The WWHL host also showed off the coolest cake in honor of the milestone: "Thank you to the Housewives for all you give us."
Although no one knew it at the time, March 21, 2006, ushered in a new era of reality TV. It was a day that marked the series premiere of The Real Housewives of Orange County, the first-ever installment of Bravo’s long-running Real Housewives franchise.
In celebration of the show’s 18th anniversary, executive producer Andy Cohen took a walk down memory lane and reflected on the series' indelible mark on Bravo as well as the general pop culture landscape. He posted a throwback photo of him posing beside the series’ original cast members: Vicki Gunvalson, Jo De La Rosa, Lauri Peterson, and Jeana Keough. (Fellow OG Kimberly Bryant was not pictured.)
Andy Cohen wishes RHOC a "Happy 18th Birthday"
“‘The Real Housewives of Orange County’ premiered on Bravo EIGHTEEN years ago today!!!” Andy captioned the March 21 Instagram. “I didn’t know then how that show- and over a hundred incredible women over ten-plus spinoffs – would change pop culture and my life! THANK YOU TO THE HOUSEWIVES for all you give us, and to the incredible production teams at Evolution, Shed Media, Truly Original, Sirens Media, & Purveyors of POP. (Pictured: the REAL OG’s of the whole damn thing, minus Kim Bryant!).”
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Several RHOC alumni took to the comments section to celebrate the anniversary and express a few regrets about their past style choices.
"I can’t believe it’s been 18 years!" Jo wrote. "Also, not my caramel hair and added curls to make it even worse!"
"Time flies when you’re having fun," Vicki added. "What the heck was I wearing????"
The celebration continued during the L’Oréal Beautyverse event in New York City, where L’Oréal’s Tangela Woodley presented Andy with an epic anniversary cake. The dessert was decorated with white and orange frosting along with the RHOC logo and a scrumptious-looking orange and cake beads on top.
“Happy 18th Birthday, OC!” Andy captioned a Story of the cake design.
Andy Cohen reflects on RHOC's legacy
The Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen host helped launch the series as an executive producer, alongside Adam Karpel, Alex Baskin, Douglas Ross, Gregory Stewart, Scott Dunlop, and Stephanie Boyriven.
RHOC Season 1 was primarily set in Coto de Caza, an affluent gated community in southeast Orange County. The show quickly became a pop cultural phenomenon that led to various U.S. and international spinoffs, including The Real Housewives of New York City, The Real Housewives of Atlanta, The Real Housewives of New Jersey, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, The Real Housewives of Miami, The Real Housewives of Potomac, and The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.
Andy Cohen explains "the secret sauce" of the Housewives franchise
Andy opened up about the franchise in a 2022 interview with Yahoo! Finance, explaining how the Housewives have remained so relevant after nearly two decades.
“The secret sauce of ‘The Housewives’ is all in the casting,” he told the outlet. “I think we’ve done a lot of great work — finding the right women and then figuring out how to keep the energy going and taking people out of the mix and putting people back in and putting new people in. There’s not a science to it, but [it’s] a process that we all care very much about.”
He continued: “Bravo is a vibe that people love… and The Housewives are a brand that people care about. It’s all about creating the brand and sticking to it.”
