“If you look at the breadth of Housewives on all of the shows, we represent all ages and specifically [Real Housewives of] New York City, Ramona [Singer]’s 61 or something,” he said, according to PEOPLE. “This doesn’t have to do with age.”
Instead, Cohen said Gunvalson and Judge’s exit had more to do with making sure the show’s storyline continued to evolve. He also confirmed that Shannon Beador will be back despite her close friends leaving the reality series.
“We just felt like, with Orange County, we were going in circles a little bit with the group,” he said. “Sometimes you have to take people out of the group to see the stories go in a different direction. I think if we had taken Shannon out of the group, then we could have a discussion about whether this had something to do with age.”
He continued: “The last thing we want to do is isolate longtime fans of the show. It would definitely not service the show for us to isolate our viewers.”
The WWHL host also teased the possibility of keeping Tamra and Vicki involved with the franchise, despite their departures.
“We are like the mob. We want to stay in business with these women,” he said. “I want to keep them in the fold. I want to keep them at BravoCon and accessible to everyone.”
Meanwhile, Vicki's daughter Briana Culberson shared her thoughts on her mom's departure from the Bravo hit reality series.
Briana's husband, Ryan Culberson, shared a photo of himself and his wife on Instagram and in the comments to that post, one follower asked for Briana's thoughts on her mother's recent announcement about leaving RHOC.
"I’m not really a 'statement' kind of girl, but I will say that it’s very sad and the end of a wonderful journey for my mom. We’ve had a lot of fun as a family on the show and I’m very proud of her and love her," Briana wrote in response, according to The Daily Dish. "Her absence will be significant and she will be very missed on the show."
Vicki announced her departure from RHOC in a post on Instagram on January 24. "I will always be the OG of the OC, but it’s time to say goodbye to The Real Housewives of Orange County. It’s been an incredible ride for 14 years and I want thank all of you for your support, for your love and for 'whooping it up' with me along the way," she wrote. "I hope you will join me with my new journey so please stay tuned. I love all my fans, and I want to thank Bravo and Evolution for this incredible experience which my family and I will never forget."
The next day after Vicki's announcement, Tamra Judge also confirmed that she will not be returning as to RHOC. “It’s been a wild 12 years,” Tamra wrote in a post on Instagram on January 25. “But it’s time for me to move on. I’m sad to go but I’m very excited about my future.”
Photo Credit: Bravo, Instagram
