Andy Cohen Addresses ‘RHONY’ Pause Rumors as Insider Speaks

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Credit: ROGER WONG/INSTARimages, Danielle Levitt/Bravo

Andy Cohen took to his Instagram Story on Friday to refute a rumor suggesting The Real Housewives of New York City had been placed on an indefinite pause.

After Bravo denied that any final decisions had been made about the show’s future, Andy, 56, reshared a message from Variety editor Kate Aurthur and teased the cast of the Real Housewives franchise’s newest addition, The Real Housewives of Rhode Island, as an insider offered an update on the status of RHONY.

“Nothing has happened with the RHONY that’s different from before Bravo made those announcements earlier this week. Weird story!” Kate had written on May 9.

Elsewhere, another insider revealed RHONY is still in limbo ahead of its potential 16th season.

“Final decisions haven’t been made, and they are seeing if they can find a solution,” one source shared with Us Weekly on May 9. “The network and producers have been debating whether or not to bring it back.”

Since the February conclusion of season 15, which featured Jenna Lyons, 56, Ubah Hassan, 41, Jessel Taank, 45, Sai De Silva, Erin Lichy, 37,  and Brynn Whitfield, 39, the insider said no one has received a contract and that producers are “figuring out how to make it work.”

According to the report, the audience struggled to embrace the new cast after it was fully rehauled in 2022.

“The audience didn’t catch on to the show, and ratings are not what they were with the original cast,” the source explained. “Some of the fans were let down. If you don’t keep the old cast, it becomes a different show, and fans didn’t connect to it.”

In addition to being faced with the ladies not wanting to film with Brynn, 39, producers have been forced to deal with a couple of cast members, including Ubah and Jenna, being too secretive with their relationships with Oliver Dachsel and Cass Bird, respectively.

“There have been production issues that added to why the network and producers haven’t been sure about its future,” a source added. “There were problems with the cast, especially with Brynn, that turned dark and ugly and changed the dynamic. Whereas before she was a fan favorite the previous season.”

As for RHORI season one, Andy told Page Six on May 7 that the cast is “incredible.”

“They are very Italian. Rhode Island is such a small state, and they all kind of know each other and overlap, and it’s an incredible group of women who have really interesting connections. I think it’s going to really surprise people,” he gushed.

Although The Real Housewives of New Jersey also has Italians on its cast, Andy said RHORI is different because Rhode Island is “coastal,” and the ladies are even “more Italian” with “deep families.”

“[But it] does kind of remind you of early ‘Jersey’ in a weird way,” he admitted.

As for whether the women went through background checks, Andy noted, “When we started ‘Jersey,’ nobody had [done] anything illegal,” before confirming the pre-casting process is different than it once was.

“As the show has evolved, the diligence has evolved,” he shared.