Why Andy Cohen Doesn't Want Heidi Montag To Join The Real Housewives
Could Heidi Montag ever join a "Real Housewives" franchise? Not if executive producer Andy Cohen has anything to do with it. Cohen has been involved in casting for the "Real Housewives" shows and has certain criteria that he looks for. In an interview with Bravo Insider, Cohen shared what the stars usually have in common. "They all [want] to be famous. They're very opinionated. They're not afraid; they're not shy. They're outgoing. Many of them are very funny but don't even realize how funny they are," he explained. But while it may seem that someone like Montag would check those boxes, Cohen has no interest in bringing her on board.
On an episode of his SiriusXM radio show, Cohen made it clear that he doesn't know Montag personally and that he never watched "Laguna Beach" — the show that officially gave Montag her start. However, Cohen strongly feels that she is too well known for her time on MTV (she had a bigger role on the spinoff "The Hills"), which tells him that she would not be a great fit for one of the franchises that he casts for. "I have said that I thought it would be weird if they were on the Housewives because the same reason that I was saying that it would be weird if Snooki came on the Housewives," Cohen said (via Us Weekly), referring to Nicole Polizzi of "Jersey Shore" fame. "They're so identified not only with another show, but with another network," he added.
Montag, however, seems to think there's more to it.
Andy Cohen isn't playing favorites
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in September 2023, Heidi Montag admitted to wanting to be on the "Real Housewives," since she feels that she'd be a good fit. "[Andy Cohen] made a statement a while ago that he would never want me on it and that I wasn't for their franchise, but I think that he's so wrong," she told the outlet. She went on to assume that it may be because Cohen is a fan of Lauren Conrad's. "I would think that he would appreciate the reality star that I am. I completely make sense to be on one of these shows," Montag said, suggesting she'd be a good fit on either the Orange County or Beverly Hills franchises.
Interestingly, Cohen says that his decision not to consider Montag for the "Real Housewives" has nothing to do with people she used to be friends with. "I didn't watch "Laguna Beach," so I don't even have much institutional knowledge of them," Cohen admitted on his SiriusXM radio show (via Us Weekly), adding that the thought of Conrad didn't even cross his mind when thinking about Montag joining "Housewives." Of course, Montag seems to be doing just fine despite her lack of Bravo casting. She has starred in a number of other reality television shows, including "The Hills: New Beginnings" and "Celebrity Big Brother."
Heidi Montag has a plan to get back in the spotlight
Although being cast on the "Real Housewives" probably isn't going to happen anytime soon, if ever, Heidi Montag and her husband Spencer Pratt have another plan. The couple has launched their own podcast called "Speidi's 16th Minute," a play on their celebrity couple name and their time in the spotlight. "Using their 15-plus years of experience in Hollywood, Spencer and Heidi Pratt will explain how infamous paparazzi moments, reality TV villains, and surprising celebrity success came to be," the description of their podcast reads. And nothing seems to be off limits when it comes to what Montag and Pratt will discuss, either. For example, in an interview with Page Six's "Virtual Reali-Tea" podcast, the duo talked about the money they've made (a whopping $1 million) from some of the staged paparazzi photos they partook in.
Bottom line, Montag and Pratt are hoping to become stars once more. "This is actually a [platform] for us to figure out how to become relevant again, get a 16th minute past this podcast and actually be famous-ish again," Pratt said in an episode of the podcast, according to Page Six. The first full episode of Speidi's pod dropped in August 2023.