Andy Cohen is sad to see Kandi Burrussleave The Real Housewives of Atlanta, but he’s giving her credit for the 14 years she gave to the Bravo franchise, calling her “one of my favorite people to work with in my whole time.”
On Monday’s episode of SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live, the 55-year-old Bravo host discussed 47-year-old Burruss revealing to ET on Sunday at the GRAMMYs that she had plans to exit RHOA.
Cohen took a moment to acknowledge the journey that the businesswoman has gone on throughout the course of the show’s 15-season history, including the death of her fiancé, AJ Jewell, in 2009.
“Incredible run,” Cohen said of Burruss’ time on the series. She is currently the longest-running Housewife in all of the franchise. “And you think about how much she not only went through on the show but brought to the show. When she came on, she was with AJ. He, between filming our first season and shooting the reunion, was killed. She lost him. Mama Joyce was disapproving of AJ in her first season. This was season two of Atlanta. It was Kandi’s first season.”
On the GRAMMYs red carpet, Burruss confirmed to ET’s Nischelle Turner that she would be taking a step back from RHOA to pursue other avenues, including her music and producing career.
“I’ve been going back and forth and I think because they gave us such a long break, I had a lot of time to do other things and I’ve got some big announcements to make coming soon,” Burruss shared. “I mean, I love the girls, they’re my friends, I’m still gonna see them and hang out with them. And Bravo is my family, I love them as well, but you know.”
On his SiriusXM show, Cohen acknowledged the myriad of things Burruss accomplished within her first few years on Real Housewives, including writing Kim Zolciak’s song, “Tardy For the Party,” marrying Todd Tucker, opening the Old Lady Gang restaurant, launching Bedroom Kandi, and bringing Michael “Bolo” Bolwaire to the show.
The Bravolebrity said the veteran alum not only has brought the series some of the most iconic moments, characters and lines, but she has been one of the most authentic personalities — something that brought the fans back season after season.
“She was always very true to herself. She wanted to be the best. She has been one of my favorite people to work with in my whole time,” Cohen said. “I love how thoughtful and smart she is. She is so strategic. She would call me anytime she had a thought about either the way the show was being marketed or not marketed or about the way that it was being scheduled. She had a lot of really smart opinions and thoughts and she always wanted to — she was always wanting to know more.”
Cohen added that her commitment to RHOA mimics her commitment to everything else she does in life as she has brought a new level of care to the show as an already-established businesswoman and songwriter. Before starring on RHOA,Burruss received two GRAMMY nominations for writing “Bills Bills Bills” for Destiny’s Child and “No Scrubs” for TLC. The latter song won the Best Rhythm and Blues Song GRAMMY in 2000.
Currently, Burruss and Tucker, 50, are producing the touring revival of The Wiz. The pair also recently debuted their film, Kandi Burrus and Todd Tucker’s The Pass, which aired on Peacock. Talking with ET on Sunday, the Housewife said she is too busy to be stressing constantly over her exit from The Real Housewives of Atlanta, and that she has plans to announce even more in the coming weeks and months.
“I’m doing Broadway and I — you know, we have The Wiz that’s coming,” she said. “I’m excited for that and then I got some more things to announce in that lane, as well. You know, too much, I don’t wanna talk too much ahead of time.”
During the interview, Burruss also told 360aproko that she had conversations with Cohen prior to making her final decision and that he left the door open for her to come back if she ever feels up to it.
“He called me and — cause I’ve talked to him about it — and he said, ‘I don’t know how I feel about this,’ and I said, ‘Well, honestly, I don’t know how I feel about it either,'” she shared. “But he was like, ‘Well, you do realize this is your family if you just wanna come back next year, that’s fine. And I’m like, ‘I mean, I love you guys and I appreciate [it]. Like, it’s my family.’ You know what I mean? I’m always a part of them, they’re always a part of me.”
Cohen confirmed on Monday that they talked previously about her leaving the show and the future of RHOA, which is up in the air in terms of cast members and shooting schedule. The show’s 15th season, which aired from May to September, wrapped production in January 2023 and season 16 has not begun filming.
“We had a long talk the other day. She and I and Todd on the phone. I appreciate her saying, ‘You know what? I think this is just time,’ and she knows the show is at a crossroads right now and I don’t even want to talk about where we’re going with it,” Cohen said, vaguely addressing RHOA‘s filming hiatus.
The Bravo host went on to tell a sweet story of just how much Burruss has contributed to the show and the network and how her insightfulness has changed the franchise forever.
“I think it’s just about celebrating her right now and I’ve said this before, I think on the radio and anywhere else. During the summer of 2020, which was a reckoning for all of us on many levels, she wrote such a thoughtful letter to all of us at Bravo and truly original with some really valid and true thoughts about the way that we could be conducting business differently that might be just more inclusive, more positive, more meaningful and it led to a great conversation between she and the network, and I believe the network then, you know, took it seriously enough that they basically made them all action items and said, ‘Well, we need to do all of this now,’ and that’s a partner. That’s someone who’s like, ‘We are in this together. We have a long history. This is what I’m seeing that’s going on. This is how it could be better,’ and so I just — if I didn’t respect her and love her before that, man did I after that. I thought, ‘Wow, this is very cool. This is very impactful,'” Cohen said on Monday.
“She impacted not only the show, but she impacted the way that we do business behind the scenes and that is powerful. So I just, I think both of us were kind of crying a little bit at the end of the call the other day,” Cohen said.
Burruss herself said that she struggles with the thought of not returning but that she can only set her sights on the projects she already has on the burners and give those her all.
“I think because when you do something for 14 years consistently, it’s kind of hard to think [of] not doing it, but then it’s just kind of like, you know, what am I tripping? I’m busy,” she told 360aproko
It’s unclear when the new season of The Real Housewives of Atlanta will begin filming and which cast members will return.
