Former “Real Housewives of New York” star Kelly Bensimon said she’s sent Andy Cohen a list of potential cast members to help revive the franchise.
“Everybody says I should be back on ‘Housewives’,” Bensimon told Page Six. “And I’m happy to do it with — not to be mean, but, like, not this cast. I sent a whole list to Andy. I was like: Here’s the mothership,” she continued.
“My biggest criticism — and it’s been the same thing throughout since I was on — is that the ultimate character on the show is New York and we’re not seeing New York. You see all the glamor and the glitz and the gorgeousness [of Beverly Hills], and we just don’t, we’re not seeing that,” she added.
Bensimon didn’t tell Page Six any of the names that she sent to Cohen. However, Cohen confirmed that he received a potential cast list from Bensimon and that she put herself on it.
“She’s on the list. It was, I think being kind of anchored by her,” he said on SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live. “Funnily enough, she does email me more than you might expect. … but she pitched, one of the people is someone that I’ve known forever and someone that you know who is not going to do it and, by the way, I mean, yes. So, I got the email. That’s all I’ll say.”
Kelly Bensimon’s Proposal Comes as RHONY Reboot Struggles With Ratings
Bravo and Cohen decided to completely revamp the “Real Housewives of New York” cast after its 13th season. The OG cast, which included Sonja Morgan, Ramona Singer, and Luann de Lesseps weren’t asked back for season 14. Instead, an entire new cast was hired.
Ratings in 2024 plummeted, per the U.S. Sun, with some 280,000 viewers tuning in live for episode 6 of season 15. In its heyday, RHONY boasted nearly 1,000,000 live viewers, according to Nielson (via TV Deets).
Former RHONY star Bethenny Frankel also weighed in on the rebooted series.
“You got like 200,000 viewers watching this piece of trash,” she said on her Instagram Stories in November 2024, according to the Daily Mail.
“So, go get the old girls and dust them off and mix them in. Humble pie is coming in hot,” she added a the time.
Fans Reacted to the Severe Ratings Drop
Some RHONY fans took to Reddit to discuss the dismal season of the show.
“They need to clean the house again and choose a cast who are friends—in the same mommy groups, work together, are neighbors, etc.- something with an existing connection. But I don’t see them starting from scratch twice,” one person commented on a Reddit thread in November 2024.
“I think the show will be canceled and be the first long-running flagship to be sunset, putting a little (perhaps healthy) pressure on the others to perform,” someone else added.
“It takes a special kind of group to make a great reality show and everyone has to bring something to the table. They don’t all need to be fab favourites or the most visible but be able to tie it all together and this group of women just don’t mesh. Jenna is the most out of place and Rebecca,” a third Redditor weighed in.
