Andy Cohen may have been reflecting on New Year’s Eve, but his comments quickly veered into familiar territory, and longtime viewers immediately picked up on what sounded like pointed shade toward Bethenny Frankel.
While discussing his CNN New Year’s Eve hosting gig on the January 5 episode of SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live, the Watch What Happens Live host admitted he went scrolling to see what people were saying online. “I went on TikTok just to see what the kids were saying about New Year’s Eve,” Andy said. What he didn’t expect, apparently, was how quickly one familiar face would dominate his feed.
“Boy, that margarita lady. Oh my God, it’s suffocating. I couldn’t,” Andy said, referencing Bethenny without naming her directly.
His co-host, John Hill, didn’t miss a beat, adding that she posts “like 14 times a day.”
“Anyway, that was a one and done for me,” Andy replied, making it clear he wasn’t interested in sticking around. Hill then revealed, “I have her blocked.”
Andy followed up with another comment that raised eyebrows. “She doesn’t come up on my Instagram. I don’t even know if she’s on Instagram.”
The remarks landed loudly given Andy’s long history with Bethenny, who rose to fame on Real Housewives of New York City and became one of Bravo’s biggest breakout stars thanks to her Skinnygirl empire. Bethenny has been especially visible on social media over the past year, particularly after launching her so-called “reality reckoning,” a public campaign calling for reality stars to receive residuals and accusing networks of exploiting talent.
While Andy never mentioned the movement by name, the timing, and his comments about her TikTok presence, felt far from accidental.
Bethenny, for her part, has not been subtle when discussing her former relationship with Andy or Bravo. She has repeatedly pushed back on the idea that Andy is her boss. “Andy Cohen was never my boss,” she said during one of her podcast appearances, emphasizing that her contract was with the network, not him personally. She has also acknowledged that while they were once close, that dynamic has changed. “We were friends,” she previously said, before noting that relationships evolve when business and power dynamics shift.
The tension became more visible after Bethenny began criticizing the reality television machine that helped make her famous, a move that placed Andy, as the face of Bravo and its reunion culture, squarely in the conversation. Andy has largely avoided addressing her accusations directly, making his latest comments all the more noticeable.
Adding another layer to the irony, Bethenny is perhaps best known for building a multimillion-dollar brand around Skinnygirl margaritas — the same product line Andy appeared to reference when he joked about the “margarita lady.”
Whether Andy’s remarks were meant as a lighthearted jab or a deliberate dig, the exchange underscores how far apart the former allies now seem. Once one of Bravo’s most celebrated success stories, Bethenny has repositioned herself as one of the network’s loudest critics — and Andy, it seems, is no longer pretending not to notice.
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