Andy Cohen didn’t spend his Memorial Day Weekend with Anderson Cooper or his muscle zaddy bestie, but rather, one of the most polarizing players in recent NHL history.
Former New York Rangers winger Sean Avery, 44, visited the Real Housewives mogul last weekend at his Hamptons pad, along with Mary-Kate Olsen, 37. The two dated for a period in 2007, and their relationship was apparently long enough for the actress and ex-instigator to be categorized as “former flames.”
The celebrity blog deuxmoi posted photos of the two, which garnered strong reactions from confused lurkers. “This reads like mad libs,” someone posted on social media.
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The second photo in the gallery shows Avery and Olsen, who’s wearing a coat, scarf and winter hat, hanging with a shirtless Cohen.
Cohen and Avery have been friends for years and have had the nature of their relationship questioned in the past.
Back in 2017, Cohen brought up a false rumor that he and Avery were once engaged when the NHL star appeared on Watch What Happens Live.
If Avery and Olsen seem like a random pair, they have one major overlapping interest: fashion. Mary-Kate and her twin sister Ashley are accomplished designers, starting their first line when they were childhood stars. The sisters’ breakthrough came in 2006 with the launch of their own brand, The Row, which started as a quest to create the “perfect t-shirt.”
Nearly two decades later, the Olsen twins are considered trendsetters in the world of “quiet luxury,” producing minimalist pieces with “ultra-luxurious fabrics and impeccable American craftsmanship,” writes the iconic British fashion magazine, Tatler.
Tatler is owned by Condé Nast, where Anna Wintour serves as the Global Chief Content Officer. That brings the story back to Avery, who has a personal relationship with the legendary Vogue editor and real life Miranda Priestley.
As an NHL player, Avery was known for his high-end taste in Dries Van Noten suits and a fashion sense even sharper than David Beckham’s (at least according to the New York Times). The Ontario native famously interned at Vogue as an active player, working for minimum wage and helping with photo shoots and all sorts of miscellaneous tasks.
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“I did everything from schlepping clothes back and forth from Steven Klein’s studio, to trying to get b-roll on a photo shoot in LA, a little bit of everything,” he told the NYT.
In an essay about his experience, Avery played up his seeming conflicting identities as an NHL tough guy and fashionista. “It’s simple. I like clothes. Always have,” he wrote, via D Magazine.
He continued, “If you feel like teasing this hockey player about an obsession of his that you think is a little unusual, go right ahead. Just know that you may get your a** kicked by a very expensive pair of shoes—and that they’ll probably match both my belt and my shirt.”
Avery’s tendencies as a player indicate he wasn’t joking about his threat. He led the NHL in penalty minutes twice, and was one of the league’s most notorious antagonizers. Perhaps his most infamous on-ice incident came during the 2008 playoffs, when he screened legendary New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur for an extended period of time, waving his stick and hands to distract him.
The exchange ended with Avery scoring a power play goal, but the league office wasn’t amused. The following day, the NHL announced it was updating its unsportsmanlike conduct rule to response to Avery’s antics.
“An unsportsmanlike conduct minor penalty will be interpreted and applied, effective immediately, to a situation when an offensive player positions himself facing the opposition goaltender and engages in actions such as waving his arms or stick in front of the goaltender’s face, for the purpose of improperly interfering with and/or distracting the goaltender as opposed to positioning himself to try to make a play,” the league said in a statement.
The edict was naturally dubbed “The Avery Rule.”
While Avery’s first stint with the Rangers was categorized by on-ice controversies, his second stint was categorized by social advocacy, particularly for LGBTQ+ people. Avery is believed to be the first New York athlete to endorse same-sex marriage, speaking out at a time when almost every male pro athlete stayed silent on the matter.
“I’m Sean Avery, and I’m a New Yorker for marriage equality,” he said in a 2011 video for the New Yorkers for Marriage Equality campaign.
Avery told the NYT that living in gay-friendly meccas such as LA and New York shaped his views on the then-controversial subject.
“The places I’ve played and lived the longest have been in West Hollywood, Calif., when I played for the L.A. Kings, and when I moved to New York, I lived in Chelsea for the first four years,” he said. “I certainly have been surrounded by the gay community. And living in New York and when you live in L.A., you certainly have a lot of gay friends.”
It’s apparent that Cohen, 55, is one of those friends. Avery posted a photo of the Watch What Happens Live host holding up his memoir in 2017. “We have a long standing #bromance while others say we were engaged…..potato potato what’s the diff?” he wrote in the caption.
Since retirement, Avery has worked full-time in the creative industry as a model and actor. His most notable cameo came last summer, when he appeared in Oppenheimer.
While Avery’s celebrity may be increasing, troubling allegations have emerged from his personal life. His ex-wife Hilary Rhoda filed a restraining order against him in 2022.
On Tuesday, tabloids dispelled speculation about Avery and Olsen rekindling their 17-year-old romance. “Mary-Kate and Sean have been friends since 2006, they had a fling for a while in 2007 and have remained friends,” a source told Us Weekly. “They see each other every summer in The Hamptons, but they’re just friends.”
We’ll see if Avery and Olsen meet up again with Cohen. We know that a photographer will be watching… somewhere.
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