My night at Watch What Happens Live!
By: Jaclyn Shupe #RHAwards winner & Former Bravoholic.
I’m not going to lie: when I heard that Amber Marchase and David Arquette were on the same night I was going to be there, I was very disappointed. I was able to watch RHONJ before the big event. Our tickets said we needed to be at the studio no later than 10:30, so of course we were there at 9:45. The Watch What Happens Live! studio doesn’t look like studio, because it’s not, it’s more like a college. The security guard let us in, but told us we had to wait until 10:00 to go upstairs.
My friend Dino is very friendly and started talking to the security guard. He was born and raised in New York, Andy is always very nice to him and he’s never seen the show or any other show on Bravo. We told him about Chicago and the Real Housewives. One of Andy’s producers came down and began talking to a pretty young woman, who we came to learn later is David Arquette’s publicist. At 10:00 we were finally able to go upstairs!
We went up to the 6th floor and walked down the same hallway you walk down to go to your professor’s office. We walked into the “Green Room” for the audience where the very sweet bartender asked us what we wanted to drink. There were three cocktails to choose from: The Mazel (Vodka, Orange Juice and Cranberry Juice), The Fresquila (Fresca and tequila) and The Whiskey Gingy (Whiskey and Ginger Ale). Dino had one of each and I had a Fresquila and two Whiskey Gingy’s.
Other people started coming in after we were seated with our first cocktails. The bartender came over to me and asked me if I won a raffle and I explained I won the #RHAwards contest. He told me he would take us to meet Andy before the show. My friendly buddy Dino started talking to other members of the audience. There was a couple from Seattle who paid a boatload of money in an auction and didn’t even get to meet Andy.
At 10:15, we left the green room and walked into the hallway leading to the studio. They were filming the pre-episode promo so we had to wait. Amber and David walked passed us and I said hi to Amber. I’m not exactly sure why or where it came from. She smiled and said hi back to me.
We walked into the studio and there was Andy! He was sitting in his chair looking at his cards for the show. The bartender/producer introduced my friend and me to Andy. Andy hugged me (yes, he smells like Heaven) and my friend and told us to take a seat. The seats the guests sit are are really comfortable. I told Andy the story of how we first met, when he was on the phone at Macy’s, but I did tell him that he was very nice to me anyway. He apologized for it. He told me to come sit by him and he took my phone from me and took some selfies of us together. Then, he said the one phrase I was hoping for - ask him anything we want in the time we were together.
I admit, I blanked and Bravo Con was the farthest thing from my mind - I know I failed you all.
Here’s a quick recap of questions and answers:
Andy’s least favorite housewife: Jill Zarin (surprise, surprise. I told him I didn’t like the way she treated him with their one on one interview).
Bethenny’s Bravo return: They are still really close friends (he had just texted with her an hour before - ahhhh!!!!), but there are no plans for a return. However, he doesn’t rule it out in the future.
Tamra’s OC future: She’s not going anywhere. Andy thinks she went a little extreme in her defense of what she did or did not say.
Aviva’s NY future: He didn’t say she’s leaving exactly, but he asked who we think shouldn’t come back. We both said Aviva and he nodded.
Jacqueline’s NJ return: It’s just like Crazy Kelly’s NY return, it’s 2 or 3 episodes tops, she’s not returning as a housewife.
Real Housewives of Chicago: It will never happen, but Andy loves Chicago and wants to do something else in our beautiful city. As people who live in Chicago, Dino and I had to express our disappointment in 100 Days of Summer. We explained those people were not a good representation of who we are as a city and how terrible the show was. Andy said he knew the show was bad and he was sorry about it.
Reunion shows: He had too many good memories to name a favorite, but I did express my joy in how he stood up to Ramona this season.
With that, our time was up and the show was about to start. We were put in the best seats in the audience and I made friends with the cameraman while the others came in to be seated.
Andy came in with Amber and David and the guests sat down. Before the show began, Andy walked over to Dino and I and cheers us and sat down to start the show.
The first segment flew by! While they were being interviewed, my empty drink cup fell off my lap and onto the ground. The producer behind me whispered to leave it (had I bent down to pick it up, I would have been in front of the camera - I should have done it!). During the first commercial break, the bartender from earlier came to take our drink order (Whiskey Gingy number 2 for me!). During the break, Andy yelled over to my friend Dino to ask if he was doing ok. I yelled back to Andy to remind him I was the one who won! (FYI: never bring a gay man to meet another gay man, you become the third wheel). Dino asked Andy if he’s become friends with J.Lo and Andy said she was in the audience the week before sitting in the seat Dino was in. The producer told me J. Lo had actually been in my seat and so had Chrissy Teigen so obviously I will. After the second segment, we got our final drinks. The show seamlessly goes into the After Show.
I know a lot of people said it seemed like David Arquette was “giving it to Amber” and didn’t like her, but they actually got along really well and were very nice to each other. When the after show finished, the producer said we could stay a little while. Andy came over and hugged us goodbye. Amber walked over to me and said hi. I told her she had started following me on Twitter that day and said I was @shupette and she was so excited to meet me. She hugged me and took a selfie with me. I told her she was gorgeous (she is) and she said I was too and told me I have pretty eyes (which is totally true - they’re green). Amber had no idea who I was or why I was there. She was just sweet and kind and wanted to meet someone who had said hi to her earlier. I know a lot of people are down on Amber and her husband (he wasn’t there), but she is a very sweet woman. I was surprised. I feel like I was too quick to judge Amber and I see her differently now. I don’t expect you all to change your thoughts on Amber just because I like her, but I feel like I needed you all to know that.
The clubhouse itself is even smaller than you think it is. It’s probably no larger than my living room. I had heard from others how small it is, but you’re not prepared how small it is until you see it in person. We left the studio happy and a bit drunk and stumbled back to our hotel.
I don’t know how normal people make it into the clubhouse. Most of the people there knew one of the guests, either as a friend or family member.
It was the perfect night. Andy Cohen is such an amazing man. He doesn’t have to be as kind to fans as he is. I am so happy I got the chance to really talk to Andy. He is everything we hope he would be and much more. I will never be able to express my gratitude to Bravo and Andy enough.
(Do you have a WWHL story you want to share? Send me a message and it will be published in #TheWWHLDiaries blog to share with the world)
@Shupette's experience was amazing, I'm so grateful for her sharing it with us. Please share this with your followers and Retweet!