Andy Cohen Explains Why Live Real Housewives Reunions Are a “Very Bad Idea”
After hosting one live reunion during an episode of WWHL, Andy vowed never to do one again. Here’s why.
Back in 2011, The Real Housewives of Miami Season 1 cast made history when they gathered to film the reunion live during a broadcast of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.
But according to host Andy Cohen, the Season 1 RHOM reunion was the first and last of its kind — for one very important reason.
“Live reunions are a very bad idea,” the dad of two said during a broadcast of his Sirius XM series, Radio Andy. “See Season 1 [of The Real Housewives of] Miami. There’s a reason we don’t do reunions live.”
During regular reunion tapings, which can take upwards of 12 hours to film, Andy said the ladies have an opportunity to talk about certain subjects at length.
“There is a lot of grist to go through before you get to the prime beef,” he explained. “And there’s a reason we’re edited down. We could talk about a topic for 25 minutes, for 45 minutes, before really getting to the heart of something.”
Andy went on to compare reunions to “a fishing expedition.”
“You know, you’re going around, you’re talking about different topics, you don’t know what’s going to land, what’s going to hit,” he said, adding that there are “ebbs and flows” in the conversation throughout the day, and that it takes time to “hone” the footage so that it is “finely shaped.”
“There’s an art here, guys,” Andy concluded.
Andy’s comments about the trials and tribulations of hosting a live reunion aren’t the first time he’s spoken out about the RHOM Season 1 conclusion. After the Miami ladies returned for Season 4 on Peacock in 2021, Andy apologized to Larsa Pippen for her first and only prior reunion experience. (Before she returned to the show for Season 4, Larsa only appeared on the live Season 1 reunion.)
“I have to say, poor Larsa, the only reunion she got was that horrible reunion we did that was live in the Clubhouse,” Andy told the Season 4 cast as they prepared for the reunion taping (see the video above). “We’ve never done a live reunion since.”
Larsa said the experience felt “rushed,” and Andy agreed. “Yes, well, we were. That was not great. I apologize.”
Fast-forward to the RHOM Season 5 reunion in 2023, and Andy and Larsa had a different experience with each other altogether. Get your refresher on what happened between the two below.
Watch WWHL on Bravo Sundays through Thursdays and the next day on Peacock. Catch up on the Bravo app.
Watch The Real Housewives of Miami on Peacock and the Bravo app.
