Andy Cohen predicted the cast of The Real Housewives of Rhode Island will recapture the chaotic and volatile spirit of The Real Housewives of New Jersey’s table-flipping glory.
“[The Rhode Island cast] are very Italian,” Cohen, 56, told Page Six in an interview published on Wednesday, May 7. “Rhode Island is such a small state, and they all kind of know each other and overlap, and it’s an incredible group of women who have really interesting connections. I think it’s going to really surprise people.”
Bravo has yet to confirm casting details — though there have been some suggestions and predictions — but Cohen insisted his team picked impressive Housewives to represent the Ocean State. The Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen host acknowledged that the cast “does kind of remind [him] of early Jersey in a weird way.”
Cohen pointed out that the Rhode Island Housewives are “more Italian” than their Jersey counterparts and each have “deep families.” Italian families were represented strongly through the early seasons of The Real Housewives of New Jersey with its focus on the Giudices, Gorgas and Manzos.
An official Bravo synopsis for The Real Housewives of Rhode Island promised lots of drama “set against the shores of the Ocean State.”
“The Real Housewives franchise expands into the world of a tight-knit circle of Rhode Islanders who have deep community roots and families that go back generations,” Bravo teased. “With aspirational lives, thriving businesses and tangled family dynamics, these decade-long friendships prove that in a state this small, there’s no escaping your past … or each other.”
As for The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Bravo has taken a longer-than-usual break in filming following the contentious conclusion of season 14. For the first time in the franchise’s history, there was no traditional reunion for RHONJ last year — the alliances within the cast were instead split into two rooms to review footage from the season, with Dolores Catania alternating between rooms to offer commentary.
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The RHONJ cast became bitterly divided over the past few seasons, as O.G. cast member Teresa Giudice and sister-in-law Melissa Gorga refused to engage with one another. Us Weekly exclusively reported in February that Bravo had made no decisions about the future of RHONJ — and the series was subsequently missing from the network’s renewal announcements this week, along with The Real Housewives of New York City. (Bravo told Us on Friday, May 9 that RHONY was “not canceled” and no plans are “official.”)
While the future of RHONJ seemingly hangs in the balance, Teresa exclusively told Us Weekly in March that it was “relaxing” to take a break from the show. Her costar Dolores had a completely different take on the reality show’s hiatus.
“At least [when you’re filming] you’re running on the adrenaline of what you have to do and what’s expected of you,” Catania, 54, told Us. “And then all of a sudden it’s like, ‘Wait, it’s been a while now since I’ve done that.’ And then it’s, like, you go through a little thing — almost like a breakup.”
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She went on, “I feel like a relationship breakup. You take a little break and then you’re like, okay, I want to start going again.”
Teresa’s RHONJ nemesis Margaret Josephs exclusively told Us Weekly in March that she was enjoying “a welcome break” from the drama of shooting the Bravo series.
“It’s relaxing. It’s fun, but, of course, I’d love to go back,” she told Us, before adding, “I love everybody to work and have a successful career. I think some friendships have gone past where they belong. And you know what? If it’s not me [on RHONJ next season], then that’s fine too.”
The Real Housewives of New Jersey fans can rewatch all previous seasons on Peacock. The Real Housewives of Rhode Island doesn’t yet have a Bravo release window.
