Amid disturbing allegations against him, Andy Cohen continues to reign as "King of Reality TV." But while he's amassed $50 million from running Real Housewives and getting Hollywood stars to dish it out on his talk show, Watch What Happens Live, the Bravo staple has made some regrettable reality TV decisions. One of them was rejecting Meghan Markle on WWHL multiple times.
Years later, as a non-working royal, the Duchess of Sussex invited Andy on her now-canceled Spotify podcast, Archetypes. There, the former actress narrated her "conflicting" thoughts on Real Housewives, making the latter question their interaction. Here's a timeline of Andy and Meghan's interesting history, which the producer hopes to turn into a TV collaboration.
Andy Cohen Rejected Meghan Markle's Multiple Requests To Go On WWHL When She Was In Suits
In November 2023, Andy revealed at BravoCon that Meghan was "pitched" to appear on WWHL but that they "passed." A year later, the host revealed to Loose Women that Meghan's "people asked us to have her on several times."Andy still regrets it, saying he "could have been kiki-ing with her about the Housewives," which the Dater's Handbook alum reportedly enjoys.
And we said, 'No.' You never know who's going to become a duchess.
At that time, Meghan was still on her breakout series, Suits, which seemed "fake" to Andy. "I can't watch Suits. I guess she was pitched and we passed," he recalled in 2023. "... It always seemed like a fake show to me. I don't know why. It's shot in Canada, is it a parody of a show? Is it shot on green screens? I don't know... justice for Suits, I guess."
When asked if he thought Meghan would still go on WWHL, Andy admitted that it seemed like "she's kind of done with it" at that point. And he feels for the actress-turned-royal, saying: "I don't blame her. 'You passed on me then and you want me now? No.'" In March 2021, Oprah Winfrey—who had an awkward moment on WWHL—ended up doing a bombshell interview with Meghan and Prince Harry following their exit from the British royal family.
Andy Cohen's Questioned Meghan Markle's "Conflicting" Thoughts On Real Housewives After Their Podcast Interview
In November 2022, Andy had a chance to speak with Meghan when she invited him to her Archetypes podcast for its season finale. In the narration for the episode, the latter opened up about being "conflicted" about the Real Housewives. "I'm conflicted about this. Not about [Cohen's] success, his rightfully deserved success, but on what his success specifically with this franchise has been based off of," she said at that time.
Meghan wasn't sure if the franchise was "giving women the space and allowance to be exactly who they are as complicated layered challenging, funny, silly, etc" or just "fueling the fire of archetypes by creating caricatures of women." She then prefaced her interview with Andy by saying it was "important" to hear his side on this, especially after calling it a "feminist" show.
Later in Andy's memoir, The Daddy Diaries (May 2023), he questioned why Meghan "didn't discuss" her "conflicting" feelings with him during their conversation. He wrote:
"However, in that narration, she talks about what a tough conversation this was for her, mentioning that she has conflicting feelings about the Housewives. I think it was interesting that she said it in the narration but didn't discuss it with me head-on. Wouldn't that have made for a more dynamic conversation?"
Andy added that he went "into this expecting to have to defend my beloved troop of Housewives, something I've grown accustomed to and enjoy doing." Despite not having a "more dynamic" chat with Meghan, he raved about the encounter, saying:
She was lovely, and we had a great time together, in which I found an opportunity to throw in the question 'Were you silent...or silenced'
It was a reference to Oprah's interview with Harry and Meghan, which the latter didn't get at first, according to Andy—who also clarified that he really spoke with Meghan and that he didn't record separately for Archetypes. He went on to describe the host as "quite well-researched," "well-informed," and "thoughtful."
Andy Cohen Is Interested In Having Meghan Markle On A Real Housewives Spin-Off
Back at BravoCon 2023, Andy also expressed interest in having Meghan on a new spin-off, Real Housewives of Montecito. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been living in a nine-bedroom home in an exclusive suburb in Montecito since 2020, alongside their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor. "If we can get Meghan Markle, that would be interesting," Andy said of his dream for the franchise.
But speaking to Loose Women recently, Andy said, "I don't think [Meghan] would do the Housewives." In 2021, Andy said he'd also love to have Lindsay Lohan on The Real Housewives of Dubai. The Freaky Friday star moved to the United Arab Emirates in 2014 to get away from the prying eyes of Hollywood. "Let me tell you something. It's a good idea, Jerry," Andy told Jerry O'Connell on The Talk.
A Bravo source set the record straight on these celebrity Housewives rumors, saying: "There are a lot of people who put their names out there that we've never talked to." Reality TV expert, Kate Casey also said on her Reality Life podcast that "some of the women and their teams purposely drop the names of potential cast members to the media with the hope they will be considered."
