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Andy Cohen, Real Housewives, & Bravolebs Dissect Every Outrageous Moment from BravoCon
Insiders relive all the highlights from the "euphoric" BravoCon 2019 weekend.
Bravo Insider is celebrating BravoCon 2019 one year later by taking a look back at the wildest and most exciting moments — including the ones you didn’t get to see. Bravolebs, producers, and executives recalled their favorite memories, revealed behind-the-scene details from the VIP areas, and spilled some never-before-heard secrets from those iconic three days in NYC.
The weekend had it all: a Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen taping for the ages, insightful and emotional reveals from Bravo stars and show producers, and so many juicy backstage antics.
In an interview first shared exclusively with Bravo Insider members, The Daily Dish spoke to executives, producers, and Bravolebrities to get the tea on BravoCon's origin story, hear all the details about the moments you didn't see, and get the story behind the ones people are still buzzing about.
Bravo's NYC takeover kicked off on November 15 for what would become a legendary three days of fans and Bravolebrities meeting, greeting, and partying together. The event spanned across three venues — The Manhattan Center, Skylight Modern, and Union West — and every step of the planning process was about giving fans the ultimate experience.
I love a destination wedding. And this was like one big destination wedding.”
Maria Laino DeLuca, Senior Vice President, Consumer and Social Marketing, Bravo and Universal Kids: We had brought Watch What Happens Live to L.A., and just seeing the fans online and seeing the interactions — it was like Beatlemania. People were screaming, went wild. I had never felt that kind of fan energy in my life. And I’ve been to a lot of concerts and experiences. I’d never felt that before, and that really was the moment where we looked at each other and said, ‘We need to do this.”
Deirdre Connolly, Executive Producer for Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at Embassy Row:
It was just really special [that weekend]. And then to see it on a scale like that just made us feel very rewarded by the planning that went into it.The detail that Bravo put into BravoCon was just amazing. I was blown away from each part of it. It was just really, really a very memorable weekend for participants... It was just a really inclusive, celebratory experience.
Laino DeLuca: [We wanted to] really bring our Bravo wink and personality to life and make it feel fun and make it feel like an escape from your life which, thankfully, we were able to achieve.
Andy Cohen, host of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen: There were so many great memories. I love a destination wedding. And this was like one big destination wedding.
That BravoCon experience included panels which put Bravolebs on stage in front of their fans to not only spill secrets, stories, and insights from filming their lives, but to give viewers the chance to ask them, literally, anything.
Emily Simpson, The Real Housewives of Orange County: I did not anticipate [when a fan asked about Shane’s bar exam results]. His bar results came out the day I was on a panel and I didn’t know what [the result] was. I anticipated what it was because I hadn’t heard from him. Someone right in the audience [said], "I can pull up his [results] because it’s all public information." And I was like, "Really? You don’t have to... Do we have to do this in front of like 5,000 people?" [laughs] But it is what it is. I think that’s the assumption of risk, that’s probably what I signed up for. I don’t think I ever told [Shane the fan asked].
I think I was only like a week or two out of surgery from having my hip replaced. So, it was really hard for me to get around. I really could only do like the panels and the meet and greets and stuff. And then I had to go back to the hotel and lay down.
Gizelle Bryant, The Real Housewives of Potomac: The panels were up close and personal. It was a meet and greet on steroids. So I actually liked those a little bit better because you’re able to really connect with the people that week after week are sitting home watching the show. I love them and I appreciate them. And you have to understand our Potomac fans are Potomac fans — meaning they’ve been with us since Day One.
Golnesa "GG" Gharachedaghi, Shahs of Sunset, who was pregnant with her first child during BravoCon weekend: The energy was great. I loved being on stage. That was an awesome feeling, to see the love and all the fans. I would want to do that over and over and over again because it was really cool. It’s one thing to answer people’s questions on Instagram, but having the opportunity to sit on a panel and answering questions from the audience, it just makes it more personal, in my opinion, to our viewers. And I feel like we owe them that.
Sezin Cavusoglu, Vice President, Bravo Current Production: Porsha’s foot was in a boot [because she just had surgery]. We wheeled her on to the stage and we wheeled her off the stage. There was a huge line [with RHOA fans for the meet and greet]. The Porsha [and] Kenya [Moore] photo op was definitely one of the highlights for me. For Porsha to make that kind of time while she was standing on one foot, basically, and allow her fans to come in — that was a very special moment.
Lorraine Haughton Lawson, Executive Producer on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, The Real Housewives of Potomac: I was worried about Porsha and her foot. I think Porsha and Kenya kind of carried it — that’s what they do. They never surprise me because those girls are like bonafide stars.
Cynthia Bailey, The Real Housewives of Atlanta: For the Atlanta Housewives [panel], it was really cool for us to be together to represent our franchise together. It felt good to be with my [Atlanta] girls.
And then in terms of the fashion one [with Bravo's Project Runway designer and judge Brandon Maxwell], my background before I was a Housewife, I was a model. So, it was great to be on the panel with the ladies like Dorit [Kemsley] from [The Real Housewives of] Beverly Hills, who I just live for. She’s so cute, so sweet. Her fashion is off the chain.
Hannah Berner, Summer House: I remember we were on stage and did a Q&A. I basically stage dived. It was amazing. And I would do it again if I was allowed to, but I’m not currently.
Everyone [was] just so happy and smiley [at BravoCon] and I think so much of reality TV is sometimes you feel like you’re in a fishbowl and people are just watching you and you don’t necessarily feel that connection. But Bravo is so much bigger than our show. It’s a community [...] These are people who really have the highest passion, and the people who went to the Summer House event particularly love Summer House. They were bringing us gifts. People would bring us drinks. And it was the number one fans all together in one place.
Laino DeLuca: We talked about a lot of different things [for panels]. We tried to be as creative as possible. I remember saying, ‘What would I really want? I [want to] see Teresa [Giudice] and some of the other New Jersey ladies come together. We know on Sundays they’re probably making their sauce with their family and they’re eating their meatballs. I want to see them making meatballs or making a dish and just having a casual conversation and cooking.
Dolores Catania, The Real Housewives of New Jersey: People know the history between Teresa and I [when we appeared on panels together], and it’s natural to speak about our lives together. I always stay true to who I am because I feel like the fans deserve it from me.
While most of the casts on Bravo shows are filmed at home and on the town in their street clothes, that isn't the case for the yachties of the Below Deck franchise, who are mostly captured working in uniform. BravoCon weekend took them off charter and planted them on land.
Kate Chastain, Below Deck: Having all of the Below Deck cast members from both Below Deck original and Below Deck Mediterranean felt like a family reunion, with the Mediterranean [cast] being the cousins that you don’t get to see very often, but you know you’re related. You have a common bond. So it was awesome. Sitting up there with Colin and João, I did still feel like, "OK, I’m their chief stew. If anything happens, I’m the chief stew in this situation."
Nadine Rajabi, Below Deck Mediterranean Executive Producer: [BravoCon] was truly one of the greatest experiences and events I have ever attended and was honored to be asked to take part in it. I’ve spent over a decade working with the network and the way Bravo has branded itself is unlike any network out there. The fans truly buy into the brand and consume everything on the network. So to see a fan event come to life like this was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced or seen. I loved seeing Bravolebrities that I worked with in the past and present being treated like they were the Beatles. I loved seeing Captain Sandy, Kate Chastain, Captain Lee — all of my Below Deck family getting so much recognition and praise.
Unlike other series, Below Deck is a series about a workplace that has inspired so many to join the yachting industry, and to hear some fans tell Captain Sandy that she inspired them to join yachting, or tell Kate she has the best table settings and the best one-liners, to yell at Captain Lee that he’s the “Stud of the Sea,” and to see people gush over Ben Robinson’s cooking demo — I’m like “Yes!” I loved seeing them get the recognition they deserve.
Chastain: I like to tease [Captain Lee] he’s got such good luck. There’s a saying, it sounds like a Captain Lee saying, but it’s not: He always lands with his ass in the butter. Of course Captain Lee has the good fortune that the weekend of his birthday is the largest grouping of Bravo fans. He basically had the best birthday party ever. My birthday is on January 2nd when everybody’s tired and hung over and doesn’t want to celebrate anything anymore.
Rajabi: When you work on a yacht, you’re working in a small confined space and it’s like working in a hole completely out of touch with the outside world. It’s hard to see the forest through the trees sometimes. So to step outside of [the show] was incredible to see. The event was well-organized, so captivating, and offered such wonderful fan interaction and insight. You’d never get that opportunity anywhere else; it was spellbinding!
While the Below Deck cast's appearances at various events were on the schedule, Tom Sandoval appearing in drag for the entire first day of the event was not anything anyone in attendance could have anticipated.
Tom Sandoval, Vanderpump Rules: I had so much shapewear on. I had two pairs of nude-colored opaque [tights]. I had a corset, I had all these things on that after a while, I remember it felt long because I think everybody kind of had to pee [because] we had been drinking backstage [at the WWHL taping]. And I remember, too, my hips were hurting so bad. The only way I can describe it is if a really heavy person was standing on my, like, kidneys with a stiletto. I had to run off stage during commercial break and just undo everything to like let my my hips breathe. They were numb for like two days afterwards.
James Kennedy, Vanderpump Rules: I know Tom likes to put on a big show. And I know he really pulls that look off well. Doesn't he? So I feel, I feel more power to him. And I thought it was absolutely epic.
Scheana Shay, Vanderpump Rules: What’s funny about BravoCon is that was the first time [my boyfriend] Brock [Davies] met Tom Sandoval. They had talked over FaceTime and whatnot but actually meeting in person for the first time was when Tom was in full drag! Brock got a kick out of it, and they instantly hit it off. This year for Tom’s birthday, Brock and I had a cake made with a photo from BravoCon of Tom in drag with Ariana! [laughs].
Sandoval: [The fans] loved it. It was worth it. It did take me about three-plus hours to get ready and then I was literally in those heels for 10 hours at least. A lot of the Housewives loved it. Mike [Shouhed] from Shahs [of Sunset], he short-circuited when he saw me. He was so thrown off, he started laughing uncontrollably.
The weekend gave fans the chance to live out moments they've seen or heard about on their favorite Bravo shows over the years, and that included an event hosted by The Real Housewives of New York City alum Dorinda Medley, who taught a BravoCon edition of her aerobics class in front of a room of ready, willing, and able fans.
Cohen: Dorinda was so good and it was so fun. I had a blast. It was the perfect kind of final morning activity. I was up for it. Dorobics was pretty nuts.
Connolly: [It was] very celebratory. It was really sweet. We had some concerns about how it was actually going to play out, but Dorinda came with her partner [John Giswold, who passed away earlier this year] and they were just dressed to the nines in ‘80s gear and then we looked out in the crowd and people are in their ‘80s gear. I’m sure they were hungover from the night before, but they showed up. There was a conga line of people doing her aerobics and it was so sweet and fun and lively, and just light. It just kind of summed up the whole experience because it was a Housewife doing what she loves to do and they were loving like every single second of it.
Laino DeLuca: It ended up being just so incredible. [Andy] had planned it all, he had his outfit. He was like, ‘I wanna do this. I wanna get on stage,’ and that was, again, sort of another nice surprise [for fans]. Those surprise and delight moments were very important as a part of this whole weekend, whether it was, I’m waiting in line and it’s really cold outside and bringing the talent out there to have those moments or Andy coming on stage in the middle of Dorobics. Those things contributed to the success of the weekend.
During the weekend, several big announcements were revealed. During WWHL, it was confirmed that Leah McSweeney would be joining The Real Housewives of New York City cast. But that wasn't all! Two big shows were announced as well: Below Deck Sailing Yacht and The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.
Laino DeLuca: It felt like a great opportunity to reward our fans and really make it feel even more exclusive by letting them hear it first. Those announcements just felt so right for that audience, not only because of the talent that was present, but again, it just felt like the right time.
Chastain: It’s been pretty incredible. I was so excited to see Below Deck Sailing [Yacht] be announced, especially on that big screen because what sets Below Deck Sailing [Yacht] apart is how magnificent and majestic [the vessel is] when the sails go up. And it was such a great experience to see it on a large auditorium screen.
Cohen: That was fun [announcing RHOSLC]. I think it really took people by surprise. They were expecting Chicago, or they were expecting everything but that so it was great.
Bryant: [It felt] like we’re no longer the baby of the bunch [when RHOSLC was announced]. We are now O.G.
And while the RHOSLC cast wasn't there in person for the news, believe us, they heard about it.
Meredith Marks, The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City: It was surreal. To think of how long ago we started the whole process of meeting with producers about the show and to have it finally announced, it just didn’t seem real. The fans seem just as excited as we are for the show to debut. I was in my Chicago home at the time. I don’t think any of us expected such a splashy announcement or a better way to introduce us and the show to the world of Bravo. I love how passionate the fans of the Real Housewives franchise are.. . and at the first BravoCon ever! I could not have ever imagined it!
Whitney Rose, The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City: It was everything [to have Real Housewives of Salt Lake City announced at BravoCon]! An epic Housewife moment that I am so grateful to be a part of. I was in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on vacation just after Justin and I celebrated our vow renewal. No, [I did not expect to get a launching pad like BravoCon for the show]! We were definitely #blessedonthatone.
Heather Gay, The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City: [It was] totally thrilling to hear Andy say the words Salt Lake City and to hear the Bravo fans be shocked and thrilled simultaneously! [When the announcement was made,] I was at work at Beauty Lab & Laser and had employees monitoring Twitter and IG to watch for it! It was amazing and made it all become very real very quickly. I still couldn’t wrap my mind around it. I knew that saying it to the Bravo fans on such a huge platform meant that it was all happening.
Lisa Barlow, The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City: [It was] crazy, exciting, surreal. I was in the car [when the announcement happened at BravoCon]! It was the BEST launching pad.
In addition to teasing the future of Bravo, the weekend also celebrated the network's storied history, including appearances from alums.
Cohen: I would describe it as a big family reunion. My highlight beyond doing Watch What Happens Live was getting together with Caroline Manzo, Jill Zarin, Kim Richards, Kim Zolciak, and the other OGs that were in that first OG panel that I did. I loved it. I go back so far with those women, so that was really cool. It was just great to see them, and it reminded you of why you fell in love with them in the first place.
I think that people feel like they’re friends. They know them really well because they bare everything on camera. I think for that reason people just seem to feel that they know them — it’s like seeing old friends.
Cavusoglu: The fact that two of the panels that Andy hosted on Friday and Saturday mornings with the quote unquote, retired Housewives, there’s a reason those were so popular. It’s because our audience has been watching them for such a long time and they feel like they’ve been on a journey with these people. They see them through divorces, pregnancies, miscarriages, new houses, moves, whatever a person can go through, that are those landmark moments in life. We’ve been watching these people do all that. So, to suddenly be face to face with the person, I get it. I get the thrill. At my core, I’m still such a fan of our shows. I think that it was really thrilling, both for our fans and for our cast members.
And to celebrate the history of the Real Housewives franchise, memorabilia from across seasons, casts, and cities was brought to NYC and put on display in the Real Housewives Museum, giving fans an immersive experience like no other.
Laino DeLuca: We had been talking about doing some sort of curated collection around Housewives for a while, and we really talked and collaborated with all of the groups across Bravo to identify what are those big, buzzy moments from the franchise that we can bring to life. We started there, and did a process of elimination because we only had a certain amount of space to do this.
The museum included all sorts of iconic items from reunion dresses to the RHONJ sprinkle cookies to Kenya Moore's Gone with the Wind Fabulous dress to the RHOBH bunny to, yes even, Tamra Judge's implants.
Bailey: I had one of my reunion dresses there. They asked me for one of my memorable outfits. I chose to send my red [dress]; it was very big gown. I decided to send that one because I actually still had it and I could find it in my garage [laughs]. I didn’t even know they were doing the Friend Contract. I almost passed out when I saw that. It was hilarious. It just lives on and it just never goes away. And now people are doing friend contracts all the time, so it just kind of took off.
In addition to interactive events throughout the day, BravoCon also gave fans the chance to party with their favorite Bravolebs. On Saturday night (November 16), the Hammerstein Ballroom was transformed into the hottest nightclub in Manhattan for the Vanderpump Rules After-Party x House Of Yes event.
Laino DeLuca: That cast and that show is known for what happens at SUR, but a lot of it is what happens outside of SUR. The idea of [the Vanderpump Rules after-party was], "Where do these guys go? How do they party after they get off their shifts at SUR?" and really trying to deliver a fun nightclub experience. Making Hammerstein Ballroom the hottest nightclub in New York City on that Saturday night was our ultimate goal.
Kennedy: I was nervous going into it because I knew that so many people were going to be attending this event. And I really wanted to impress the crowd with my DJ skills. I put in a lot of practice before and I was pretty prepared to put on a good show. So I'm really happy with how the night turned out. And I wish I could go back and teleport back because it was just such a rush. It was a dream come true.
Shay: It was such a great interactive experience with the fans. I got up after a few shots of tequila and performed "Good is Gold." I had my Britney Spears moment, and it just was so much fun. I just went out there and had so much fun and everyone cheered and it was just such a blast; that was, by far, the biggest crowd I’ve ever performed for and I had zero rehearsal time. That was the best party we’ve ever had by far. Everyone just had so much fun and got along, and it was just a great night overall and it was so fun to have our other Bravo friends from other shows there supporting us as well.
Kennedy: I love having fun with the other castmates, especially when they're into their music. And I know that Scheana was really just itching to get onstage and have a good time. And I think that it was a great opportunity to just bring everyone out. I think I brought Ariana [and Lala] out, as well. It's always great fun getting Scheana out and dancing to some of her old classics, DJing in the after-party — nothing is going to top that. It was absolutely epic.
Sandoval: [The party, during which I bartended,] was like a little bit of what’s it like to go to a club with us or go out with us, but also what it’s like on a crazy night at Sur or Tom Tom. It was magic.
BravoCon was, in some ways, not only a romantic getaway for Bravo couples, but also a testing ground for several boyfriends who had yet to get fully immersed in the experience. They learned first-hand how big of a deal their significant others are while attending the event.
If there was ever a way to kind of explain my life to him, and for him to get it, taking him to BravoCon pretty much said it all in a nutshell. ”
Bailey: I think honestly what meant the most to me was that my now-husband [Mike Hill] was able to go with me. Before he met me like he was a fan of the show; he used to watch the show. But he’s never been seen Bravolebrities everywhere. He’s never experienced anything like that. So, it was just really cool to take him out of the sports world and just bombard him with a true Bravo experience. If there was ever a way to kind of explain my life to him, and for him to get it, taking him to BravoCon pretty much said it all in a nutshell.
Shay: [To Brock Davies], I was like, "I don’t think you know what you signed up for." I prepared him and I was like, "When we walk around this corner, there are going to be hundreds of fans screaming [and] paparazzi." And then when I walked around the corner, he was like, "Oh my god, I know you said to expect that," but then seeing it and experiencing it when we hadn’t even publicly announced our relationship or anything was just crazy. And then when he was in the crowd and in the audience girls were coming like, "Oh my god. You’re Scheana’s new boyfriend." And everyone was just so welcoming — and it was a great experience overall.
Kelly Dodd, The Real Housewives of Orange County: It was really surreal [getting engaged the night before BravoCon to Rick Leventhal]. A lot of people that get engaged, they don’t have it documented. And it was a really nice, celebratory way of proposing to me. And getting to share it with the world, it was really, really cool.
Gina Kirschenheiter, The Real Housewives of Orange County: It was so cool to be able to show [Travis Mullen] this whole world. It just made it that much more special and fun for me. For me, personally, it felt really good because I stepped into this Bravo world, I’ve had to do it by myself. And it felt really nice to have somebody there that I loved that was so supportive. Trav is a cool cat. He doesn’t crack under the pressure. It is crazy and overwhelming to him, but he’s totally OK in kind of any situation that I put him in. So I think I was more nervous than him. I think he is the person that helps me stay calm. Because even though he isn’t a part of this, and he recognizes that obviously there was a lot going on, he’s not really like fazed by it.
As if BravoCon wasn't enough of a unique experience, a Bazaar curated with products sold by Bravolebs was also a highlight of the weekend.
It’s definitely inspiring to see how these people took their show and created more of an empire with their brands”
Laino DeLuca: I have to say when you plan events, especially large-scale events like this, sometimes you don’t know what to expect, and I feel that Bazaar Marketplace was one of the things that we kept changing. One of the things that we didn’t expect was the talent enjoying it so much and telling us that they really enjoyed it and interacting as much as they did. They went really above and beyond, and I think that speaks to sort of the passion that was exuding from these consumers. It was very clear that it was just a positive good group of people that ended up being a really nice surprise.
Bailey: It was awesome. I really wanted to make sure that I had a presence there. My CB Vior line has been around for a couple of years now and I rock it a lot on the show. So a lot of my fans were excited to really see everything in person. Anything I pretty much sell, I really wear it. So it was just great to really mingle with [the fans]. Just to see the love and support coming from my fans — it’s one thing to have a bunch of followers, but it’s another thing to actually have followers and fans that actually support your businesses and buy your products. So, it was just really cool to really be able to hang out with them and get to meet them.
Berner: It was also cool to see a lot of the different businesses that have been created just from Bravo [and] from having a show on Bravo. It’s definitely inspiring to see how these people took their show and created more of an empire with their brands.
Sandoval: It was just fun hanging out and seeing all the different stuff. These people had church candles that they made of us — and I ended up getting their information and I’ve had a bunch of them made.
Speaking to just how immersive the three days were, dishes from several former Bravo's Top Chef's cheftestants served as the menu for the weekend as well.
Laino DeLuca: Top Chef from just overall viewer research, one of the things we hear the most about is that desire to be able to taste the food. You watch the show, you root for the chefs, you see them prepare, and their overall personal and professional journeys, but one of the things that you can’t do when you watch that show is taste the food. So, the idea behind this was we wanted to take inspired recipes from the show and bring them to life and give consumers the opportunity to taste them. It was really good. I tasted it all.
Joe Flamm, Season 15 of Top Chef: It was so much fun! There was this really great energy, and I got to cook for the best fans. I [prepared when I] binge-watched Below Deck and got drilled about the Housewives from my wife. Have fun and cook great food [was my game plan]. It was a blast! Just pure energy. I felt like I was at a music festival. The experience was great for me. Brooke, another Top Chef alum, and I did a demo together, which was a ton of fun. While I did meet some of the Housewives, unfortunately, I didn't get to meet my boy, Captain Lee. There's always next time.
Brooke Williamson, Season 14 of Top Chef: [BravoCon was] so much FUN! What a great way to be able to share my personal craft with so many people who appreciate what I do. Mostly my preparation was simply to be organized... I wanted to make sure that the game plan was set for the evening so that I wouldn't have to worry about anything in the kitchen. I knew that people would want to chat, so I wanted to make myself available for that as much as possible. My game plan was to execute my dinner seamlessly, and then make my demo as fun and interactive as possible. I wanted to make sure that the people who were there to meet me, had the opportunity to not only do so, but to be able to feel like they got to know me a bit more than they did from just watching me on TV. Bravo fans are incredible... they're diehard and full of energy. The energy at BravoCon was unlike anything I've ever seen or been a part of in such a great way. I know I'm no Housewife, but still felt like people were thrilled to be a part of my dinner and demo!
Speaking of events featuring food, the weekend also included brunches where fans could dine and hang with Bravolebs.
Laino DeLuca: When you watch Southern Charm, one of the things that myself, as a fan of our show, when I think about Southern Charm and how do you sort of immerse yourself in the world of Southern Charm? I think I would love to go to Patricia’s house for one of her dinners or I would love to go out with this cast and have some cocktails with them. I thought, what better way to do something like that than brunch? It’s not just about going out clubbing on Saturday night. People looking forward to gathering around a table and having good food, having some champagne and hanging out. It felt like the right pairing to bring the show to life.
Kirschenheiter: I did a brunch and it was by far my favorite thing of anything at BravoCon. There were a lot of us from all different [shows] like Captain Lee was there, one of the Toms. I loved it because it literally was just people at tables brunching and you got to just walk around and sit with whoever you wanted and just stir up conversation. This one table was so fun. And as soon as I sat down they were like, "Oh my God, just please, you have to say: 'It’s not all about you, Braunwyn.'" [laughs] I was screaming it, and then they were screaming it. And it was just really funny.
The weekend ended on Sunday, November 17, in a truly legendary fashion. Luann de Lesseps took the stage for a special performance of her #CountessandFriends cabaret show.
Luann de Lesseps, The Real Housewives of New York City: Performing Countess and Friends, of course [was my favorite memory]! It was nice to have a whole group of people who are just huge Bravo fans. There was so much love in the room. It was just so incredible to have all my peers in the room. It was an enormous honor.
Laino DeLuca: Her show has become so iconic and has really gained a following and was exciting. We thought our fans would really enjoy experiencing that and making that part of the weekend. We felt like it was a great way to end it all.
Chastain: We hear so much about it on [The Real] Housewives of New York City. So, to go there and be sitting in an area next to a few Housewives, Andy Cohen’s assistant Daryn [Carp] was up there, it made it pretty special. I’m glad that was the cabaret show that I attended.
In the end, though, BravoCon was really about the fans and celebrating their devotion to the people they watch every week. And that is a love that is very much reciprocated by the Bravolebs.
Bailey: It’s amazing [and] a little overwhelming at the same time because our [RHOA] fans are so diehard and so loyal. They just freak out. They literally are shaking when they take pictures with us. So it’s really cool to actually meet the fans because they only see us on television, so when they are in front of us they just pretty much freak out.
Bryant: Those ladies [from the other Real Housewives franchises] have been around for at least a decade. And here we are — just me and Ashley off of this little show — and what I did love was that we got just as much love and respect from the fans that those ladies did. And on top of that, the other Housewives gave us so much love that that’s what really did it for me.
It was beyond loving. I had no concept for the magnitude to what I was walking into. I remember going into like the main ballroom and it was pandemonium. I was very humbled to be a part of it, to be honest.
Berner: It really was like Disneyland for Bravo [laughs]. I really think it’s like Bravo-land. And, uh, it, it couldn’t have been executed better. And I remember just being really nervous. But the second I was there I just, I had adrenaline the whole time.
Gharachedaghi: It was so flattering that it’s really hard to express [what it was like around the fans]. It’s almost [like what] I feel maybe that’s what Kim Kardashian feels [laughs] because it felt so cool to have people screaming your name and just wanting your attention. It’s such a selfish but fulfilling feeling... And as a newly pregnant person [at the time], it was a little tricky for me. But once you’re there and you see the fans, all your tiredness and pregnant-ness is just gone in a snap.
Cohen: It was great. It was full throttle. The other thing I loved is that fans who came alone or fans who came with friends, they were just all with like-minded people. So I feel like people who attended BravoCon actually made a lot of friends. They all spoke the same language, it was very cool.
Kirschenheiter: It’s always so nice for me to do anything with Bravo because everything is usually in New York. It’s a bonus for me [being from here] because I get to see my family and my friends when I'm there. And I think it just means so much more to me. It feels like coming home. And there were so many fans that came out from Long Island specifically. The whole BravoCon, it was so electrifying, and full of energy and fun.
Catania: Meeting fans from all around the world, seeing them in person and getting to take photos with them [still stands out to me]. BravoCon today, next to Andy Cohen’s baby shower, is the most iconic thing in Bravo history.
Cohen: I would say it was euphoric. It was like a reunion of all reunions. It was interactive and it was just a total success.
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