Heavy/NBCUniversal The castof The Real Housewives of New York City.
Fans of the “Real Housewives of New York City” are not thrilled by an early detail revealed for the season 14 reunion.
On September 14, Andy Cohen revealed on his Instagram story that filming for the RHONY reunion was taking place. The Bravo host shared a photo as he held his stack of question cards for cast members Jenna Lyons, Erin Lichy, Ubah Hasan, Jessel Tank, Sai De Silva, and Brynn Whitfield.
Soon after, the BravoTV Instagram account shared a peek at the reunion seating chart, which prompted outrage from some fans.
Here’s what you need to know:
Fans Couldn’t Believe Who Got a Seat Next to Andy Cohen – and Who Didn’t
Reunion watchers know that the reunion seats on either side of Andy Cohen are the most coveted, and that the two Housewives stars who get them should consider it an honor.
When the RHONY season 14 seating chart was released, fans saw that Erin Lichy scored a seat to Cohen’s left and Jessel Taank to his right. Taank was followed by Brynn Whitfield and Ubah Hassan, while on the other side, Jenna Lyons and Sai de Silva filled out the semi-circle.
“These #RHONY Reunion seats are all first class 😉 Here’s a first look at the Season 14 seating chart!” came the caption on Instagram.
But not all fans agreed that the seating chart was a winner. Several commenters expressed outrage that Lyons was not seated in a prominent chair next to Cohen. The former J. Crew president has been at the center of a lot of drama this season with her co-stars.
“How tf is Jenna not next to Andy?” one fan asked. “Jenna not being first seat is a crime,” another wrote. “WHY IS JENNA IN COACH?!?! THIS IS NOT OKAY! 😂,” another added.
“Why is Jessel next to Andy? I’m hoping something big happens soon because right now it doesn’t make sense,” another commenter chimed in. “Jessel in the first seat?? Absolutely not,” another wrote.
Many others said they disagreed with the seating chart. “Brynn was made for the first chair and first chair only,” one viewer commented. “Super confused. Jenna and Sai need to be in the middle next to Andy. Main Character Energy ✨,” added another fan.
And others speculated that Lyons may have been offered the prominent chair but declined it.
“Everyone who thought Jenna would get first chair, I don’t think she wanted it!” one fan wrote.
According to Bravo TV.com, Real Housewives producers previously opened up about how the seating chart process works.
“It’s usually whomever has the bigger story that season is gonna be the one that sits next to Andy,” producer Lisa Shannon explained. “And we take into consideration, obviously, who’s not friendly at that moment. So that’s how the couches get divided. And then we also take into account who will be fighting or conversing with one another across the couches.”
“Some people are very concerned with where they are sitting at a reunion,” Cohen added.
Several RHONY cast members were considered pot stirrers this season. As far as storylines go, Lyons was often front and center, but others stirred the pot more. While speaking with the Daily Dish, DeSilva named Lichy as “the biggest s*** starter” for season 14. But Lichy claimed Whitfield caused more drama.
Fans Have Been Waiting a Long Time For an RHONY Reunion
It has been more than two years since Bravo fans have seen a “Real Housewives of New York City” reunion. With the old cast still on board, in 2021 the season 13 reunion taping was repeatedly phased back, and then canceled.
In the end, it became the first Housewives season to finish without a reunion. At the time, a spokesperson told Entertainment Tonight. “Due to scheduling challenges around taping the reunion of ‘The Real Housewives of New York City’ in a timely manner, Bravo confirmed there will not be a reunion for this season.”
Fans never saw veteran stars such as Ramona Singer, Luann de Lesseps, Sonja Morgan, Leah McSweeney, and newcomer Eboni K. Williams hash things out, and the focus was then put on working on the next season, which turned out to be a complete reboot of the franchise with all new cast members.
As for the RHONY season 14 reunion, Cohen commented on the taping on his Instagram stories. In a clip reshared by @QueensofBravo, the Bravo host said the revamped RHONY cast “killed it” during their inaugural reunion
“They killed it — their first reunion,” Cohen said. “Daddy’s proud. By the way, we used more Kleenex, everyone cried multiple times. Like, we had to refill the Kleenex box. It’s wild.”
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