Andy Cohen smiles on the red carpet in a gray tux and tie over a white t-shirt. His gray hair is spiked up.

If late-night was a gay club, Andy Cohen would have his own booth, bottle service, and a gaggle of partygoers waiting in the vicinity to see “what happens live.”

But as the 56-year-old admitted in a recent interview with Deadline, he’s often left out of the conversation in favor of straight (and straight-laced) colleagues like Stephen Colbert, Conan o’Brien, John Oliver and “the Jimmys” –– Fallon and Kimmel.

“I was very conscious that I wanted to be part of the late-night conversation,” he explained, adding that not being invited to Vanity Fair‘s photoshoot of hosts in 2015 left him feeling especially “salty.”

Still, Cohen stands behind the hysterics, hijinks, and hit ratings of Watch What Happens Live. “I know what it means to people and I know what it means to me,” he said. After over 2000 episodes, the Bravo staple is gearing up to celebrate its 15th anniversary.

No matter how you feel about acclaimed host, BFF of Anderson Cooper, and father of two, you can’t deny the impact he’s had in bringing Bravo and reality TV stars to the forefront of pop culture.

“Watch What Happens Live is [a] very modern late-night talk show,” Cohen said. “We live in an age where everyone is a star because of reality TV.”

Indeed, it’s hard to imagine anyone else would be capable of getting Hillary Clinton and Real Housewives alum Dorinda Medley in the same room. Let alone making them do a shotski together.

That being said, Cohen considered walking away from the Watch What Happens Live clubhouse for good.

“I think it was in year six, I started to hit the wall a little bit,” he confessed. “I started to feel like I was kind of ticking a box. But I came to and I was like, ‘Oh my God, dude, you have your absolute dream job. This a show of your imagination and everything about you.'”

And after he “snapped out of it,” Cohen said he “[hasn’t] looked back since.” Thank goodness, because without WWHL, pop culture would have been robbed of so many iconic moments.

There was that time Reba asked Troye Sivan about poppers, calling out the VCR cleaner’s name like it was an appetizer at Chili’s.

Then, there was the time Mariah Carey professed, “I don’t know her either,” when asked about Demi Lovato reportedly calling the “Touch My Body” singer a diva.

And, of course, when Real Housewives of Atlanta star Dwight Eubanks volunteered to show off his new “penile implant.” Awkward!

Thankfully, there’s a lot more Andy coming to the airwaves.

Bravo has picked up Watch What Happens Live through the end of 2025, ahead of its big 15th anniversary special, which airs Sunday, June 30 at 9 p.m.

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