Andy Cohen admits “messages between Tamra and I were really tense” after cheating scandal leaked from Hotel 888

Andy Cohen has finally broken his silence after explosive rumors surrounding Tamra Judge's alleged affair erupted online — and he’s not denying the chaos it caused behind the scenes. Speaking off-camera during a closed Bravo event in New York this week, the Watch What Happens Live host admitted that things got “really tense” between him and the Real Housewives of Orange County star after a late-night scandal linked her to an unidentified man at the exclusive Hotel 888.

“I’m not gonna lie — the messages between Tamra and I were really tense,” Andy confessed when pressed by a producer in attendance. “We both had strong feelings about how it all played out, and emotions were running high. It was a really tough situation.”

The scandal broke last week when security footage was anonymously leaked showing Tamra exiting Hotel 888 around 4:12 a.m. with a man who was not her husband, Eddie Judge — who had been away on a two-month business trip at the time. While Tamra has fiercely denied any wrongdoing, rumors swirled that the footage was first shared internally at Bravo before making its way to the press. That’s when fingers began pointing at Andy Cohen, long known as the gatekeeper of Housewives secrets.

Sources close to the production claim that Tamra immediately confronted Andy via text after the leak, accusing him of “sitting on information” that could destroy her marriage. “She felt blindsided,” one insider revealed. “She thought Andy had her back, and when this got out, it felt like a betrayal.”

While Andy has denied being the source of the leak, he didn’t deny knowing about the video before it became public. “I knew about it. A lot of people at Bravo did. But that doesn’t mean I leaked it,” he told those at the event. “People need to stop assuming I’m behind every headline.”

Tamra, meanwhile, has gone quiet on social media since the footage went viral, leading fans to speculate about the current state of her marriage. Eddie Judge has yet to make any public comment, but was notably absent from a recent RHOC cast event in Laguna Beach.

Bravo is reportedly in crisis mode behind the scenes, unsure whether to incorporate the scandal into the upcoming season or allow Tamra space to handle it off-camera. However, with cast tensions flaring and production already underway, some insiders say it may be “too juicy to ignore.”

One thing is certain — the trust between Tamra Judge and Andy Cohen may never be the same again. As one source put it: “This isn’t just reality TV drama. This got personal. And neither of them is backing down.”