Entertainment

Andy Cohen's Favorite Real Housewives

by Marenah Dobin

If I could be anyone in the world, I would choose Andy Cohen, hands down. Not only does he executive produce Real Housewives and other Bravo shows, but he also hosts Watch What Happens Live where he gets to talk to the Real Housewives pretty much all the time. Plus, he hosts the reunion shows. He even has their contact info and gets to text and email the ladies all the time! I am sure that Andy is genuinely friends with some of the women. Those lucky ducks! And I'm also sure that there are some Real Housewives who are annoying that Andy just tolerates. Not all Real Housewives are created equal, and it's pretty obvious to the the loyal fans that there are some who Andy likes more than others. But how does it all shake out?

The list of Andy's Favorite Housewives below is based on how I see things after my years of obsessing over Andy Cohen and the Real Housewives of every city. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has come to these conclusions, though. Plus, Andy has been asked to name his favorite in multiple interviews and said a different person on the list almost every time, so there's a lot of love going on here. Take a look.

Bethenny Frankel

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It's obvious that Andy is fond of Bethenny Frankel. I mean, come on, she quit Real Housewives of New York City for her own spin-off series, meaning there have been two different Bethenny-centered shows on Bravo. Then she just decided to come back to Real Housewives. So clearly, Bethenny can do whatever she wants and this means a lot since Andy executive produces the show and has a say in casting. Plus, she's clearly the most famous and successful of all the Housewives, which reflects positively on the brand and Andy himself.

In an "Ask Andy" segment of WWHL Andy explained that it's difficult separating their friendship from their business relationship: "It’s easier to be friends with her when she’s not on [the show] because she’s a Housewife now and I don’t want to treat her differently than other Housewives. She knows that.” Yeah, she's a favorite.

Carole Radziwill

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The reason Carole Radziwill is a New York City Housewife is because Andy convinced her to join the show — the two of them have been good friends for years. So, no matter what happens on the show, these two have a personal bond that's not going to be broken. During an episode of Watch What Happens Live, former Housewife Brandi Glanville even accused Andy of giving Carole and Bethenny special treatment.

Vicki Gunvalson

When asked about his favorite Housewife in a one-on-one interview with Sonja Morgan, the Bravo king tried to avoid the question, but he ended up saying,

One of my favorites is Vicki because she was the first one and so you know you always have a special connection to your first and I feel like Vicki is still weirdly in this place where she’s like "Oh my God, what the hell am I doing on this show? It’s gonna kill me." I just think that, we’ve seen her go through so much in the last 10 years, so I have a special place in my heart.

So that's basically just a way of saying "she's one of his favorites" without declaring an absolute number one.

NeNe Leakes

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In a 2013 interview on the Today show, host Savannah Guthrie asked Andy to pick a favorite Real Housewife and once again he was hesitant to answer, but this time he implied a different favorite. "You know, NeNe Leakes is going through a major period of success — from, of course, The Real Housewives of Atlanta," he said. "She's got a starring role in The New Normal on NBC. I'm especially proud of her right now." NeNe has provided a lot of iconic moments over the years, so it makes sense for Andy to love her.

Lisa Vanderpump

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In an interview with Brandi Glanville, the former Housewife pressured Andy to admit that Lisa is his favorite Beverly Hills lady, and asked if he begged her to stay on the show, which he denied. "I think for you to say that she is my favorite Housewife of all of the Housewives… I know that’s what all of you think in Beverly Hills," he said. "But I’ve tried very hard to be fair with everybody.” Still, it's so clear that Lisa is a favorite. I mean, her dog Giggy even has his own contract with Bravo, so that's a pretty sure sign.

Teresa Giudice

Teresa has been a pretty polarizing character over the years, but even with her legal troubles, it makes sense for Andy to favor her. Teresa IS Real Housewives of New Jersey. That show would be nothing without her. And in a weird way, her legal drama made her an even bigger star. The Bravo host and Teresa even kept in touch while she was in prison via email, which is a big deal because she was not allowed to email just anyone.

All of the Real Housewives have an important role in reality TV history, but I don't blame Andy for having some favorites. With all the time he and the women spend together, it only makes sense for some ladies to stand out from the rest.

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