The Real Housewives Reunion Seating Process Is a Lot More Complicated Than You Think

"Some people are very concerned with where they are sitting at a reunion," Andy Cohen said.

By Laura Rosenfeld Oct 10, 2018, 2:48 PM ET

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Do you believe in magic? If you're a Real Housewives fan and have witnessed the spectacle that is a reunion, then you know magic is real.

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There are many reasons why Real Housewives reunions are just so amazing, but as with anything, you have to have a good, solid foundation. And so the awesomeness of a Real Housewives reunion starts with the seating assignments.

So how does the production team manage to get the seating just right every single time? Executive producers of The Real Housewives of New York City Andy Cohen and Lisa Shannon demystified the reunion seating assignment process during the Tribeca TV Festival's Tribeca Talks: Ten Years with The Real Housewives of New York City event on September 23. "It's usually whomever has the bigger story that season is gonna be the one that sits next to Andy. And we take into consideration, obviously, who's not friendly at that moment. So that's how the couches get divided," Lisa explained. "And then we also take into account who will be fighting or conversing with one another across the couches."

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Andy added that deciding who sits where is a big responsibility. "Some people are very concerned with where they are sitting at a reunion," he said.

Lisa also shared that they take other factors into account when deciding who sits next to whom, such as volume, as in putting someone who tends to be more vocal next to someone who's a little quieter to balance it out. "Not that anyone on [the RHONY] cast is quiet," she noted.

There is a preferred seat in the house as far as Dorinda Medley is concerned. "In sort of a weird way, it's an honor, I guess, to sit by Andy at the reunion, but it's also scary," she said at the event. "I like to be in the middle. That way, I'm a little bit buffered."

Sometimes, Real Housewives even get out of their seats at reunions, as you can see in the below moment from the RHONY Season 10 reunion.