Andy Cohen is open to casting a transgender Real Housewife, but he says there is one major condition.
The Bravo executive and Watch What Happens Live host recently addressed the possibility of a transgender woman joining the Real Housewives franchise during an appearance at the Newport Beach TV Fest. While Andy said he is not opposed to the idea, he made it clear that casting would have to feel authentic and connected to the existing group.
“I think if there was a trans ‘Housewife’ who was friends with other ‘Housewives’ that would be the way,” Andy explained, according to the Daily Mail.
Cohen said the most important thing is that the casting not feel forced.
“You wouldn’t want it to be stunt. You know, you wouldn’t want it to be like, ‘Let’s cast into this.’ If someone was friends with that person, then that would be great,” he added.
The Real Housewives franchise has always been built around real social circles, friendships and women with existing connections to the group. Andy’s comments suggest that if Bravo were to cast a transgender Housewife, the network would want her to enter the show naturally, rather than as a headline grabbing casting choice.
Still, Andy admitted he does not know which city would be the right fit.
He said he has “no idea what franchise that would be.”
Andy also reflected on another casting idea from the early days of The Real Housewives of New Jersey. According to Andy, production once considered bringing on Jaime Laurita, who is Caroline Manzo and Dina Manzo’s brother.
“The Real Housewives of New Jersey” originally centered heavily around family ties, with Caroline, Dina, Teresa Giudice and Jacqueline Laurita all connected through longtime friendships and relatives. Jaime, who is gay, had ties to the cast through his sisters and the Laurita Manzo family dynamic.
Andy revealed that production had “flirted with the idea” of casting him during the show’s earlier seasons.
However, Andy said he still views Housewives as a franchise centered on women.
“I mean, look, I think that in terms of casting a gay guy on the show — this is a show about women and celebrating women. So I’d think we’d leave it there,” Andy said.
Since The Real Housewives franchise launched in 2006, Bravo has featured several cast members who are openly part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Braunwyn Windham-Burke from The Real Housewives of Orange County became the first openly gay woman in the franchise.
Other Housewives have also openly discussed their sexuality or same sex relationships on camera over the years, including Julia Lemigova on The Real Housewives of Miami, who is married to tennis legend Martina Navratilova.
For Andy, the issue is not whether a transgender woman could be a Real Housewife. It is whether the casting would feel real.
And according to Andy, if she is already friends with the group, that could be “great.”
