On Display with Melissa Gorga - For All The Hayderz (w/ Hayden Cohen)

Episode Date: June 19, 2025

You've seen his videos all over social media, and this week Melissa has him on the podcast!Melissa sits down with the one and only, Hayden Cohen, to talk about his surprising journey to influencer fame, what it's like "unboxing" your nephew, his hottest takes on housewives, and who he thinks is the most underrated person in the Bravo universe. And if you're like us and can't get enough of Hayden be sure to check out his podcast, A Lot Of You Have Been Asking, out everywhere now!This week's sponsors:Apartments.com - The Place to Find a Place: www.Apartments.comBooking.com - Find the Stay That's Ridiculously Right for You: www.Booking.com (Save up to 20% on a Getaway Deal)Koala Sofa Bed – Designed for Pure Comfort: http://us.koala.com/melissa (Up to $250 off!)PlutoTV - Free Streaming TV: www.Pluto.TVProgressive - "Name-Your-Price" Tool: www.Progressive.comQuince - Summer Closet Upgrade: www.Quince.com/Melissa (Free Shipping and 365-Day Returns)Wayfair - Every Style, Every Home: www.Wayfair.com (Free and Easy Delivery, Even on the Big Stuff)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Booking.com. Booking.yeah, booking.yeah. Book today on the site or in the app. It's a true art form, what you guys do. I mean, like hang it in the Louvre, hang it under Michelangelo, like in the Sistine Chapel for me personally. What's up, everyone? Welcome to another episode on display with Melissa Gorga. I've missed you guys so much.

I've definitely been doing a couple crazy things that I never thought I'd do in life, but I cannot wait for you all to see it because you are going to die, let's just put it that way. And then I took a week off, so I it because you are gonna die, let's just put it that way. And then I took a week off, so I've missed you and I hope you missed me. I have an amazing show for you today though. My guest today is gonna be so much fun. Not only is he smart, funny, and super creative,

but he's also a full on Bravo super fan, which means we're already vibing. He's the self-proclaimed aspiring housewife of Instagram, and he's the host of the hilarious and oh-so relatable podcast a lot of you have been asking. So ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the always hilarious Hayden Cohen. What's up, Hayden? Thank you so much for having me. That was quite the intro. I hope I live up to all of those amazing adjectives you gave me. You know, I'm known for my intros. I like to really pump everyone up before they come on.

I follow you on Instagram and I think that you are hilarious and you are one of the people out there who, and correct me if I'm wrong, but you got famous, right, from social media. Am I right? Yeah. So I actually became an influencer by making fun of influencers. So I am just a walking hypocrite. I'm a walking red flag, but it worked out for me. It's a fun gig to have, I can't complain. Well, I love that you own it. And I do think that's how I found you originally, was like making fun of something.

And I was like, this is so funny. And then we met recently. Where did we meet? Where were we? I can't remember. We met at the OC premiere party in New York. I stalked you from across the room because I've always been, I was literally like,

oh my God, Melissa Gorka is here guys. And my friend was like, go say hi. You are like the biggest team Melissa girl ever. So I was like, I'm going over, I'm saying, I love you. Respect for years and years. Like, I just can't wait to see what you do next. So I came over and a little salt to do a little bit, but it was all good. I just can't wait to see what you do next. So I came over and assaulted you a little bit, but it was all good. I loved it. I loved every second of it when you

just walked right up and I was like, wait a second, I know you. I remembered your face from social media. So we had equal love for one another that day that we met. I always loved when meeting people, meeting somebody you follow online, seeing them in real life and then them being what you expect them to be. That's what it was with you. I was like, oh my God, you're just like cool, casual, fun vibes, which I knew we would get along. So I'm excited to talk today. Well, good. That was going to be my next question. I'm like, did I live up to your team, Melissa dreams? Did I?

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Well were we were drinking together that night. We had a couple cocktails and we got to chat and so I knew we would I knew it would be that case. You knew it. You know, it was like a marriage made in the Bravo universe. Heaven. I know you were so cool. You were cool. You were so cute. You were fun. And you had like a little crew with you too. You were with some people, right? Yeah. Yeah. We call ourselves the Bravo chat room. So we have like a group of girls, some of them run Bravo accounts. Some of them are fellow content creators. And we always are chatting through like everything that's happening at Bravo HQ with each other. So it was so

fun to be there that night and actually like see it in real life. Was that your first time actually meeting a lot of housewives or does Bravo invite you to a lot of these events? I went to BravoCon in the second BravoCon, which was probably what, 2022? Yes. I went to that one that was in New York at the Javits Center. I met a lot of housewives there, just that they're different panels and you know panels. And, you know, you know, how everyone has like the booths and things like that, I would like go and do that. But the second BravoCon I went to is actually

one when I had grown my own following on social media. So like, I was cut, people were coming up to me at BravoCon and like, recognizing me there. And I was like, this is so full circle because last time I was here, I was the one waiting in line and now there are people that are like waiting to talk to me. It was like a totally full circle moment. I was freaking out about it. Wait, that is actually crazy. That's exciting.

Like you see, I value that more than people like me or people like us who have this ginormous platform that you like throw us on. Like, could you imagine getting famous? And I know there's a lot of you out there, like literally from just talking on your social media, I think it's insane. And you have to be, you have to be such a standout for that to happen because there's thousands and hundreds of thousands of people that you can just flip through. So I have to put my hat off to you for that because honestly, that's huge to be able to just stand

in your house and make funny things happen or like just have people notice you from social media to me is still baffling. I can't believe the world that we live in. It's insane. I know it's honestly wild too. And like explaining it to my parents is a whole other beast. Like they are obviously like so proud, but they don't understand what like

an influencer or a content creator is or does. And they're like, you know, my mom now works for me. So she, you know, helps me on the back end of things with like all of the, you know, administrative and analytic side of stuff. So she is just like beaming with joy, but still like learning about all of this in the world of social media. So it's pretty crazy and very exciting, very cool for it to have turned into my job.

Wow. Look at this. You hired your mother. She's like, what is happening? You have an agent, you have a momager. I love it. I do. Kris Jenner, watch out. Yeah, watch out Kris Jenner. She's coming through. Well, I want to do I do want to like get my listeners to know about you a little bit. First of all, where do you live? Give us like the rundown. I know you recently got engaged. Give us give us the scoop on you personally. I want to hear about it. So I'm born and raised in and around Boston, Massachusetts.

I lived I grew up in a town, like a suburban town that not many people have heard of called Medfield and then went to school, went to college in Western Mass at University of Massachusetts. The theme of this is that I've never left Massachusetts and literally never will. And then after college, I moved to the city, like all people do.

I worked in PR and in marketing. And then from there, started posting funny videos online. You know, just during the pandemic, I really started posting, you know, in like, in the pandemic, when a lot of influencers were like, unboxing everything, they were like, they were showing all of these things that they were getting. And my first viral moment was when I unboxed my nephew, my sister had just had a baby.

And so I literally put my nephew in an Amazon box and unboxed him. I was like, he's a little heavy on my arm, guys, but I think I'm gonna keep him. And it was kind of like my first splash into like virality. And so I started just continuing with the like mockery of influencers and of content. And I started gaining followers like crazy. In the year of 2022, I gained like

300 400,000 followers online. And I was like, All right, I guess this is like becoming a deal a thing now. And like, I started having brands reach out to me. I didn't really know what I was doing. But like, my mom was like helping film everything. So yeah, it kind of just happened naturally and organically. And it became my job full time in 2022. Like I remember, like right before BravoCon, I like left my full time job to pursue this. And I've been doing it ever since and it's

been amazing. Wow. I mean, you know that's what there's so many people out there that just dream of and it happened for you. But you know what? You better like throw your nephew a bonus when he gets older because come on now, that was pretty amazing. Do you know I've never seen that?

I need to see that. Can you please send that to me on social? I'll DM it to you after this episode. I always joke and I I did set him up a college fund, because he is the reason that I have this platform now and then making the money that I'm making. So I'm very fortunate that that he was born to my sister. Like I'm always giving back to them. You'll be like super uncle forever.

What were you doing before this? What was your job before this? Before this, I worked at a PR and marketing agency. I was doing this on the other side of things. A lot of times, the influencer campaigns are the branded things that you see people post about online. I was organizing that on the other side of things, like the branded things that you see people post about online. I was like organizing that on the other side of things, like the business end.

So I was reaching out to content creators and influencers to get them to like work with our brand. So I was just inundated with influencer content because I was doing it at work all day. And then during the pandemic, I was scrolling on TikTok because there was nothing else to do. And I was just like, these influencers are so out of touch. I just need to poke fun at them

and just give them a little jab here and there. And it ended up going full circle because then I became the beast that I made fun of. It is true. Don't you feel though that there's some that do it better than others? Well, and you can tell the ones that do, especially if we're going to just talk housewise for a second.

I like to say I'm one of the better ones. I don't know. Can you like, have you seen me do any influencing? Like I just, I always think it's so funny when everyone's like, Hey guys, so, Hey guys. And then like when you could totally tell they're reading and it's just not like a natural flow of something that they use. I even for me, who is an influencer, obviously with a lot of things here and there, like I even cringe sometimes. I'm like, Oh, why does that brand even like rebook her? Like I can totally tell she doesn't touch this.

And then she's literally just reading like reading like it's bad for some people. You can always tell when people are reading a script. I think of some of the Housewives that I can just know they're literally reading something behind their phone. Whereas the only thing that's going to sell products is like the authenticity and the organic nature of it. Like you have to be an actual fan of what you're promoting. And so when I see people from when I see people promoting certain things, I'm like, there is no way Ramona singer is using that are like, there is no way that you know, Meredith marks is doing that.

And I love them. I love them as as housewives. But it's always so funny to see that like what deals they get and having my background, knowing all the different things that went into it. Right. I mean, did you see there is an influencer who literally pretends he's Ramona sometimes and also Meredith, the two of them. That's just true. And it is hysterical. The way he opens his eyes kills me. I can't. He pops up on my thing all the time too lately. And I'm like, he does Meredith and Ramona so well. It's crazy.

I don't even know how he like gets it down so good. Like the Ramona of it, like it's one of the things I saw recently of his was like, Ramona, like when you get her order wrong in the Hamptons. And he was he the eyes were perfect. Like the the the way he was like shaking his like body was like the all the mannerisms were so incredible. He is hilarious. I know he's going to he's going to BravoCon this year. So I've excited because I'm going to as I'm excited to meet him. Because his content is so funny.

Oh my god. Good. I'm so glad you're going. Yes, and I agree with you. Sometimes he freaks me out. I'm like, he's literally her. Like he's moving like she would move like, because obviously I know her very well. And I've done many things with Ramona for the last decade. And I'm like, this is like freaky. Like I need to know if he's ever met her because it's like crazy. He must have. Either he's met her in some way, shape or form, if he's ever met her because it's like crazy. He must he must have he either he's met her in some way, shape or form or he's just studied like a like a sociologist of the housewives and like knows the mannerisms and the intricacies the way she works because because he does it really well.

Same thing with Meredith marks. He does her so well. Oh, both of them. It's actually creepy. I'm like Jesus like he literally transforms into them. This episode of on display is brought to you by Booking.com. Booking.yeah. Imagine you're traveling with three kids, two sisters, a grandmother, two cousins, a crazy husband, and one nap schedule that rules them all. Some may want blackout curtains in their room, some may want a fridge, and some may want

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Guys, we've used booking.com before and it really is so easy to find the exact place that you need for your vacation. Whether you need a pool, a pet friendly place, or just a place that has an on-site gym. Guys, if the Gorkas can find their perfect stay on Booking.com, anyone can. Find exactly what you're booking for. Booking.com. Booking.yeah. Book today on the site or in the app. There are a lot of awesome things that have come out of Australia. Uggs, Wombats, the Hemsworth brothers. But my new favorite Aussie export that's finally available in the US is the Koala sofa bed. It looks nice, it's comfortable, and it's convenient. Koala makes the most comfortable mattresses and the sofa beds

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How long does it take you to perfect stuff like this? That was so good. Thank you. It's honestly so random. Like I always tell myself like, there are videos that take me like hours to write a script for and then I like produce it and edit it and like direct it in a certain way. And sometimes they flop. And then the ones that I think of like on the fly and just, you know,

shoot and record like don't care about the lighting. Those ones do really well. So it's so it's super random. I kind of just throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. But that one I just you know, there's so many food influencers that are like covering their mouth while they're chewing and doing like the like this was so good. And I'm like, delicious. You know. Just get to the point. I'm not going to feel like I made it until you make fun of me in some which way. So let's do something fun right now. What if you can be an influencer now and you can plug sprinkle cookies? Just do it for me.

Off the cuff, let's just plug sprinkle cookies as an influencer is trying them. This went viral over Christmas. It was very viral getting their sprinkle cookie boxes. So let's go. Let's go get the sprinkle cookies. All right, guys. I'm going to use my water bottle as the sprinkle cookies. So these are the cookies that you're not going to want to throw in the garbage, even though

some people say you might want to because the sprinkle cookies, you know, the colors of it, they're magical, they're beautiful, they're festive. They always go into like this very specific detail about like the intricacies of the of the randomest things that are in the product. You guys are never going to want to eat another cookie. You're going gonna be obsessed. Obsessed is always the buzzword. Like, they'll go chew on it and they'll cover their mouth like, this is so good.

They're so good. Oh my god, they're moist. You're never gonna eat another cookie again as long as you live. Like, it's always just like the most extra of it all. It really is. All right, there you go. There you go. again, as long as you live, like, it's always just like the most extra of it all. It really is. All right. There you go. There you go. A little off the cuff from hated but you know what it's like, it really is hysterical now that if you like pay attention, because the way you make it sound, it's like, wait a second, it is

really freaking funny to watch influencers. I never thought about it like that until you kind of put it out there. There should be like a small reality show on Influencers because it's hysterical. You should be the Andy Cohen of it all. Hey, that is goals in life would be to, you know, be hosting the reunion for like the real influencers of New York or something like that.

Oh my God. It is so true. Like a lot of influencers are now transitioning real influencers of New York or something like that. Oh my God. It is so true. A lot of influencers are now transitioning to reality TV and a lot of reality TV stars have become influencers in their own right through just building a platform from their shows. I mean, you're an example of that.

So it's really cool to see how interweaved these two industries are. Right. It's really crazy. And a lot of reality TV stars make more money influencing than they do on reality TV, if I'm being completely honest with you. You know, so I see it. I see the brand deals. And I'm like, the amount of money that they just made through that one thing, like, insane. It's crazy. I mean, listen, there's obviously the perks of being on the reality television shows.

For me personally, it's my businesses. I've really utilized the platform insane for my cookie company and for Envy that's been around for over a decade. So there's definitely ways to cash in and to use your business brain on all of the reality TV because there's so much negative obviously that comes along with it too. But with that, I want to transition a little bit into housewives. I want to talk to you about some Bravo stuff. Yes, please.

So let's talk housewives because I know you have all the answers. First and foremost, who's truly your forever favorite housewife? Who's's your girl? Like all there's so many in so many cities. Who do you love? Honestly, I think my like favorite housewife of all time is probably Sonia Morgan from New York. She is the straw that stirs the drink. She is just she's so like unabashedly like herself and so out there and has no filter like she I think what I loved about like the earlier seasons of Housewives when like you you guys were all on and like the first like five to six seasons of like New York and LN OC and Beverly Hills like nobody knew what this was going to be and so they they were just like, be like, letting their freak flags fly. And nobody did that better than Sonia.

Nobody. I mean, okay, well, that leads me to my next question, which I know, but old New York or new New York, I feel like I know the answer to this. I mean, old New York will always have a special place in my heart. I will say I didn't dislike new New York as much as I know some people are not for it. I agree, by the way. I enjoyed it. I liked it. I think there's a lot of potential there.

I just think that I think that the problem with the first two seasons was there was just a lot of overproducing themselves. I think now that they have a little bit under their belt, like, let's give them another try. Like they need to. I think I think there's potential there. New York obviously is like a staple franchise. So I think it'll be interesting to see what they do with it. Agreed. I agree. I really did think exactly what you said. It was a little overly self-produced

in the beginning. I think they're all very smart women. And so when they came into it, they're a little younger, they're smart, they understand the world now of influencing and what reality TV can bring you to and just how it can rise your business, right? So I think they were too in that brain in the beginning and it was like not helping them, right? It wasn't, they needed to let the businesses go a little bit and just be them and be silly and have a drink and see what happens. I think that's what was missing, but I honestly love them and I agree. I think they're coming back.

Maybe not all of them, but I think a bunch of them are definitely going to be back for sure. Yeah. I think there's potential there. I think they should just pour some gasoline on the fire, throw some new people in, let them go at it. Exactly. It's exactly what I feel like they're going to do with Jersey too, or that they need to do with Jersey. It's like, just mix us up a little bit, throw, give us some new people, keep some of the old, and I feel like we got this. Let us go. We're waiting. I think I recently said, hello, I won't say who I text this to,

but I recently text to a Bravo executive, like, we're freezing over here on this ice. Like, it's fucking cold, bro. I'm freezing over here. I need Jersey. I need my fix of the Jersey girls. So like, I just need them to give us some type of direction on what they're doing. You know, it's funny because Hayden, I still in the, in all the premieres of 2024, Jersey is still the highest rated premiere out of everyone in 2024. No one has beat our premiere yet from our last season, which is like, you're, you're the following for the dirt, like the love for the Jersey, whether it's good love, bad love, whatever, it's like intense. Like everybody, everybody knows you guys.

Yes, of course. No, I feel like we're a little bit more of the household's names. We've just been around a while and we didn't, we didn't switch up cast a lot ever. We always was like the same, the same, the same. We switched it up little bits where I feel like a lot of the other franchises every season, they inject two more girls. There's two new ones. With us, it's like same cast, same cast, same cast. So I feel like we've become more of household names in a lot of the situations. But now I'm starting to think, no, throw us some new girls. We need some new girls. Like mix it up a little bit. I like that. Give me the housewives that you've met in person and has anyone ever been like crazy?

Sheree was really crazy when I met her at BravoCon, but I do give her grace because at BravoCon, like I can only imagine what it's like being Bravo talent there. So like I'm sure that she was overwhelmed. She just was very like high by and then I saw her later that night and she was like, get away from me. Like you're a fan that type of thing, which I understand you don't want to be bothered when you're in. Wait, who is this? This was Sheree. She didn't actually say like get away from me. But she was very like, she was not

warm and fuzzy, not warm and fuzzy at all. I will say I had so much fun with Vicky Gunvalson at BravoCon. Because I'm friendly with Christian. And he is he is friends with her. And so we went out with her. She whoops it up like no other like she does. Yes. Shove tequila down your throat. So that was an experience for sure. And I'm trying to think of who else from the Bravo world. I mean, I've met Kyle Cook from Summer House.

He was amazing, so fun, like knows how to party, like for sure. He's fun. He's a party animal. You see him on Summer House and that's who he is in real life. Literally, who he is in real life. The best experiences with Housewives have been when I met them and they were who they are on the show. It's been cool to meet so many of them through just the Bravo world and talking about it

online, having you be a follower and seeing my content. I'm like, this is crazy. My mom like freaks out about it all the time. Anytime you comment on something of mine, she's like, she's like, I can't believe Melissa Gorgon like knows who we are. Oh my god, tell her I said hi and give her a hug for me. And I love that she's your momager. It's amazing. And she's so supportive with you. I see a lot's your momager. It's amazing. She's so supportive with you. I see a lot of that too. I know you're newly engaged. She was so supportive with you coming out and all of your... I love how you show them

in that light and how they're just amazing examples of parents that way. I really do, especially this month, obviously we're in Gay Pride Month and all of that, but really great, great examples of parents. Yeah. I mean, honestly, I would be nothing without my parents. They've literally lifted me up and made everything possible for me. I talked about this with my mom on my podcast. We talked about my coming out experience and whatnot. And she just like never forced anything on me. It was always super open and welcoming. And it's led us to be as close as we are and to be like the best friends that we are. And I mean, we work together every day. We don't, I've, I literally, I came out of her. We can't get much closer than that. So it's been such an amazing

experience being able to share that with the internet in a way. No, and I think it's so important. You can feel it. You can sense that you feel that way. So that's a beautiful thing. Just wanted to add that in as well. As the temps start rising, I feel that familiar urge to refresh my closet. But I'm not wasting money on pieces I'll only wear once or just for one season. Quince changes that. Their clothes are timeless, lightweight, and far more elevated than anything else at this price. Quince has everything, like 100% European linen shorts and dresses from just $30.

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Like, wow, she's completely different than I expected her to be? Or no, everyone was pretty much what you thought? I'm trying to think. The housewives that I've met, honestly, I met Ashley Darby, and she was a lot more reserved than I thought she would be like, just like she comes across on camera from Potomac as like outgoing, energetic, like, and she was very like, low energy, very, like shy in a way. And I don't know if that was the setting of where we met because we met

at one of the Bravo watch parties that I've also been to. I was expecting larger than life party girl, take a shot, let's drink, let's hang. It was more so just very demure as the kids say these days. Okay, it was demure. I will say, I've had that happen. This happened to me once with Justin Anderson and I was so upset over it. BravoCon, New York City. I do remember being annoyed that day. Justin Anderson, who I love, now we connected because he had said out loud, like, you know, I don't know, I saw Melissa Gorga and she like really didn't give me, he's like, I was dying to see her.

She's like one of my absolute favorites. I guess he was also team Melissa and he was excited to meet me and he said out loud, maybe on a podcast or on his Instagram, like she just wasn't like super friendly. She kind of kept it moving. And I, someone sent it to me who was his fan, like my cousin actually who loves him. And I was like, wait, no, I would never, oh my God, get me his number. I was like, I was DMing. I was like Justin. So now he's been on the podcast like three times since then and we love each other. But it's true there. It happens guys, when there's just a moment that you're not focused and it's like, you know, and you're not in the right mode.

And it's not even who you are, but you're just kind of quick and keep it moving because your head's somewhere else. So it does happen. So that's just for anyone out there who might meet someone. Now I get it because, and I'm always in my head, like I have that problem. I'm always thinking about what's next and like, what's going on and what's going to happen next. So like sometimes I can't focus in like the moment, you know? No, I get it too. Like at an event like a BravoCon, like you guys are also like, I give you guys so much grace because you're also working, like you're being ushered around and you have panels and things to go. So can't can't crazy everybody so so I get it completely but it was just interesting to see like the and I

love Justin he's like absolutely hilarious we've actually we I've gotten dinner with him and we talked about you because we were like we're both team Melissa and like we both like then been very active and outgoing about it and like yeah, like we were like, it was so I was like, another team Melissa guys on my team. I love when people have balls and you can say it loud and clear and like, there you go. These are my kind of people and that's why I true I love both of you guys are like real ones, you know, you really are. That's why when I heard that out just I'm like, No, I love him. No, absolutely not.

Someone give me his number right now. And then now we're in love with each other. We love each other. Did you ever get any funny DMs from Housewives? Has anyone ever DM'd you or anything like that? Yeah. I used to like, I pretty much watch every single sit franchise of the Housewives and I talk about them very openly on my stories. So sometimes when you know, housewives are in different, you know, storylines like Sutton Strach one time DMs me because I was like, I was like, why is Sutton Strach like doing like what is going on with her when she was like, name them, name them, name. I was like, what is going on with her? Like, why are her and why is she doing all this? I was I was definitely

a little bit more like, dig into her vibes. And she responded back to me and being been like, lol, like, just remember, this is a show Hayden. And I'm like, how did you even get this? You don't follow me. Who sent this to you that fault that that is somehow like, related to you where you saw it. I've had've had Heather Dubrow, Gretchen Rossi, when I've talked about OC DM me, Gretchen is a follower of mine. There's a ton of them that have just messaged me random things while I've been talking about

their different shows. Lisa Barlow I messaged with sometimes just because we share a love for fast food. So whenever she's eating on the Housewives, whenever she's having her Wendy's or her McDonald's or her her sodas, I'm like, this is a woman after my own heart, because I'm such a fan of all those things. So we've DMed him back and forth about that too. But I feel like Housewives are really good, like, savvy with social media and like somehow figure out ways when people are talking about them to like, slide into the DMs and like they know

what's going on. They're very self aware when someone is saying their name. That's a fact. I almost think it's crazy how we, and I'll put myself right in the category, it is crazy how we are aware and we see it when a lot of people would think like, they're so busy, they're not going to see this. They're not going to, no, we see it. We see it all. We see it. We see everything you guys say somehow because the Bravo fans are so crazy. Like they're so intense and amazing and all of these things. They show us like even if I didn't naturally see it, someone is sending it to me eventually and then I am going to see it. So and I just feel like if you're in the Bravo world at

all with content, it just comes up. Like no matter what you're getting to see everything everywhere, it's just, it's everywhere. So yeah, we see it guys. We see it all. The good, the bad and the ugly. Yeah. What's the Bravo moment that like lives rent free in your head? Like what is that one moment for you where you're like, this was fucking amazing TV?

Honestly, I was just talking about this with a friend recently. And I still think that one of the best dinners, because everything takes place over a dinner, as you know. But one of the best ones was the Amsterdam dinner from Real Housewives of Beverly Hills when Kim calls Eileen a beast, Rinna throws the wine glass, Kyle runs out. You should be a good sister. Kathy would have my back like a real sister. That whole dynamic is what the blueprint should be for a chaotic housewives dinner. And I mean, you are involved in one of my favorites too with with Jen Aiden with the with the wine glass when you're when you come around the table and you're like you got the wrong girl, the wrong girl. You know how many people came to me after that for like six months straight and was

like you got the wrong girl. It's what everyone said to me for six months straight after that. That was great. That was in Punta Cana or something, I think. And yeah, she pissed me off. My God, that woman. I can't. That woman, for sure. Yeah. Oof. Yeah, that's a whole nother conversation. Yeah. Okay. Give me with all this said, who is, and I always think there is someone, so dig deep with this, but who do you think is totally

underrated in the Bravo universe? There's always underrated that you're like, you're, we're not giving this girl enough credit. Okay, let me think about this. I mean, you are, you definitely come to mind. I feel like you are underrated. And I'm not just saying this because I'm on your podcast. My friends would back me up in my Bravo chat room group chat. You're definitely underrated.

But I also think that, oh, honestly, I think Mary Cosby is very underrated. When it comes to the level of just little snap snippable moments, she has that like, I think of all the time, she just has so many quotable things that she says like little girl to Whitney, like all of the things like her little isms I just like I think are so iconic. I also think I think Dolores is really underrated. I think people love her. But when you look at like people people always like build their housewives Mount Rushmore. Dolores is kind of up there. She has been like a steady force in the housewives world

for a while, I feel like, and she's never really taken a full side on like a lot of issues, which I think is hard for a housewife to do. True. So I definitely think she is underrated in that scenario, but I mean, there's so many. I know.

Well, thank you. I actually appreciate you saying that. I take that as a compliment completely because the truth is sometimes you need to be the absolute bat shit crazy ones to get that rating. When I don't think that's fair, I think it's also a huge skill to be able to be the one that's relatable and fun and still maintain top-tier housewives status and be relevant and all of these things without being the absolute nasty mean one or do you know what I mean? Those shocking moments. Yeah.

I do think that sometimes that's what could be unfair in the Bravo universe because without one side you can't have the other side you need both or it doesn't work right? Yeah, you don't need to always be the person that's like throwing the bottle of wine or throwing the glass of wine or you know what I mean? Like there it takes two to tango and so I think like a lot of times the person that is more like does the thing or like has the bit is the person. Right. So Lori, whereas like, there's another person on

the side of the table that's you know, they might not you might not they may be a sleeper they but they're like, they're getting their digs into they're just not doing all the extra stuff. They're handling it all. They're the ones handling it and making it go back and forth. And they're doing they're doing a lot. They're doing more than you can, more than you think. You know what I mean? It's a true art form. What, what you guys do. I mean, like hang it in the Louvre, hang

it under Michelangelo, like in the Sistine Chapel for me personally. For sure. On display with Melissa Gorga is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. You chose to hit play on this podcast today. Smart choice. Progressive loves to help people make smart choices. That's why they offer a tool called AutoQuote Explorer that allows you to compare your Progressive car insurance quotes with rates from other companies. So you save time on the research and can enjoy savings when you choose the best rate for you. Give it a try after this episode at progressive.com

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Make it easier to get a place that gets you. Visit apartments.com, the place to find a place. Did you see the article that just came out? I think maybe it was like Rob Shooter and he came out and said that the housewives are stale. He thinks it's like dead. He thinks the taglines are stale. There's too many legal issues that it's time for Bravo to, you know, that Bravo's gonna get rid of Housewives because of the lead. I mean, what do you do you think it's stale? Like, would you disagree with this statement or what? 100% Here's the thing. I think that like every

show, whether it's scripted reality, anything in between, they have moments where like, yeah, that wasn't a great season, we can acknowledge that. But in general, I think that Housewives is doing a lot. And there's so much content, there's so much fun that's still being had. And there's also so much obviously drama that like we all tune into, I don't think it's going anywhere. I think that some of the newer shows have lit a fire under some of, like, the OG shows a little bit. When I think of, like, Salt Lake and Potomac, and, um, I mean, I'm sure Rhode Island

is gonna come out swinging. I know that that's, like, another show that's coming out. Um, they're kind of... They're very tuned in to, like, what I think the viewers want to see and are very, smart and like savvy about that. And I think it's kind of lit a fire under like the OC and the Beverly Hills and that kind of making them say like, okay, like, this is what we need to get back to. Because I look at like the last season of OC, like, the last few seasons of OC were kind of like a little bit stale. And

then when Tamra came back, and she was like, all right, I'm back, I'm ready to party, like, I'm going to show you guys how we do it. I was like, all right, I'm back. I'm ready to party. I'm going to show you guys how we do it. I was like, yes. Sometimes they just need a little bit of a break to come back and take back over. Oh my God. That's so funny you should say that because that brings me to my absolute next question. It's a little bit of a game. Okay. So I want your unpopular opinion on these statements I'm about to make. And the first one is, housewives should be allowed to take more than one season off and not have to bring some crazy drama when they do come back.

I.e., like when they come back in, everyone expects explosive craziness. Like, what do you think about this? I think they, I don't agree with that. I think they have to come in swinging. Okay. I knew you were going to say that just by what you said before. I'm like, well, he just answered that question in three seconds. I think if you're coming back and you kind of have something to prove, you need to, and

obviously doing it in a way that like makes sense for that person. Like, I'm not expecting like somebody who is more of like a calmer, like grounding presence of the group to come in guns blazing. But with Tamra, for example, like she's always been an instigator and somebody that like kind of like stirs the pot and gets things going. So when she came back, and like if she hadn't done that, I would have been like, who is this? Why are you coming back if you're not ready to play the game? Right? Yeah. Okay. All right. All right. Here's another one.

Lisa Renna deserved more love on her last season. Oh, I actually do agree with that kind of. I know it's controversial. But I do think here's the thing, Lisa Rinna, she's a top tier housewife and she's going to come back eventually one day, I think. But I think she deserved a little bit more respect in her sendoff because people were kind of like sick of it over it, like wanted her to go off and I felt bad at Bravo con like seeing a lot that's kind of was the send off honestly and it was I didn't like that I didn't like that.

I think like you have you can obviously understand and dislike something that a housewife does. But you also have to understand and like respect what they also have done for the show. Like, yeah, some like Lisa can could Lisa was was in her last season, like could have been a nightmare to some people, blah, blah, blah. But also, like, think about what she did at the Amsterdam dinner, like I just mentioned, and think about, you know, the munchausens of it all, like she gave us she gave us years and years and years of quality content.

That was good TV everything and I just saw her recently at an event in Beverly Hills. I was with her I was with Kris Jenner. It was actually an amazing event. JLo was there everyone and I was talking to Lisa and she's just so entertaining just to talk to she was like girl you know what know what, it's you are like, just think her vibe was just I was like, I love her. She has energy. And I know she got a lot of shit. But I don't know, I really thought she made amazing TV. Oh, my god. Yeah, she makes she makes such good TV. I think too, like, I think what I think in a popular opinion

that I have is that Eileen Davidson had the potential to be just as iconic as Lisa Rinna if Lisa wasn't on the show with her. I talk about this with my friends in the Bravo chat room all the time. I think that we got to bring Eileen Davidson back to Beverly Hills and let her have another go at it, not under Rinna's wing. You know what I mean? Yes. I've seen a lot of people say that recently, like, bring back Eileen. And I agree with that too. I think she was awesome. She was more of like a quiet kill, right? Like she had like this way about her, but she was amazing too. I agree with you. All right. Another one. Too much glam ruins the authenticity of Housewives.

Absolutely. 100%. I think glam squads on group trips should be banned. Yeah, we need to see your skills. If you can't put makeup on, you can't put makeup on. Jersey, by the way, never brings glam on the cast trips. We never do it. We do our own and we just make it work. Yeah. And I love it. And that's why the cast trips are so chaotic with Jersey. I feel like sometimes with like a Beverly Hills or like a, I'm trying to think, or like a New York, like they were bringing their glam squads

and they were talking to the glam people about like what's going on in the group, where it's like, you should be talking to each other. We'd rather have this scene. Exactly, like I want you guys to talk to each other about what's going on in the group, not to... The hair guy or the... Yes. ... the comedian, Erica's choreographer and glam director. I'm sure he's a lovely guy, but he's not on The Housewives.

I get it. Nope. All right. There's that. The reunion episodes are overrated. Give me good mid-season meltdowns any day. No, I think the reunions are not overrated. I love a reunion. I love a prop at a reunion. I love a binder at a reunion. I think the reunions are some of the top tier television too. And I think people, I love when people come prepared

for the reunions. Some people are like, don't do like a powwow or don't prepare for anything. It's like, if you go into work and you have a meeting, you're preparing for that meeting. This is a huge meeting, guys. You need to powwow. And anyone says that they don't call, even if it's not a powwow where they're eating sushi together, if they're calling each other the night before, if they're on the same side and they're like, come on now, you need to prepare for this. This is the biggest meeting of the year.

Literally. Let's go. People that say they don't are lying, like just straightforward. Agreed. All right, good. All right, well, listen, before we wrap, I want everyone to get a taste of this podcast of yours. A lot of you have been asking. First of all, I want everyone to get a taste of this podcast of yours. A lot of you have been asking.

First of all, I need an explanation on the name. Talk to me. The show, it's smart, it's funny, it's a little chaotic in the best way. How would you describe it to someone who's never heard it? Yeah, a lot of you have been asking is kind of the play on my influencer character because influencers are always saying, you know, a lot of you have been asking about XYZ, a lot of you have been DMing me and asking for questions,

like, where's this from, what's that? So on a lot of you have been asking, I am answering the questions that everybody has been asking about the influencer and social media world, you know, how much are influencers making, what is the salary transparency look like, what is, like, a brand deal? What is the salary transparency look like? What is like a brand deal?

There's so many questions that people don't know about this industry and are kind of like behind the curtain. So a lot of you have been asking, is gonna be this place where I can peel back the curtain a little bit, share my experience working on the brand side of things and my experience now as an influencer while talking to some really crazy, fun guests,

influencers, creators, reality TV stars. It's going to be a really fun place. So I'm really, really excited about it. It's going great so far. So I'm really thrilled. So excited about it. And with me on podcast one, which is very excited. And let me just tell you, Aiden, they're an awesome network to work with. They really are. They're amazing. Oh, yeah. You can totally tell already. They're the best. Yeah. Awesome, awesome, awesome. What made you even decide to do this? Was it basically just like, have you always been a podcaster? Is this something new? This is something new. I kind of wanted to force myself out of the comfort zone of like, being like I feel like with with Instagram with TikTok, like you get takes and you film yourself and it's all kind of like, you know, at your leisure, whereas like a podcast, I like want to have a place in a longer form, where people can like get to know me I mean, you know, like you can only do so much through social media through like a little square where you're limited to one minute. So a podcast and being able to talk to people and talking to them for 45 minutes to an hour,

whatever it is, you get to know me more, you get to know my guests more, I get to share more of my life. So it's been really fun so far. Awesome. All right, my last question. What do you wish people would stop asking? Oh, oh my God, There's so many things.

You know I'm going to think of you now. Every time I do any type of influencing, I'm going to be like, what's Hayden going to say? How is he going to react to me? I'm not going to say, hey guys, I'm not going to do it. I'm just not going to do it. Honestly, one thing I wish a lot of people would stop doing is the hey guys, because that gets under my skin. I do it all the time.

I'm the biggest hypocrite ever. I wish people would stop asking me why I'm such a hypocrite because I mean, you gotta be, you gotta play the game to, you gotta roll the dice to play the game is what I say. Like I am just having fun, you know, shooting the shit kind of just like randomly going off on this tangent of like, what is the influencer world and whatnot. So a lot of times in my DMs I'll get asked like, why are you such a hypocrite? You make fun of influencers and now you became one. And I'm like, well, if you saw the check, you would become a hypocrite real quick too. Exactly. Practice in what you preach. It's all good. Well, hey guys, you have to check out Hayden on his social media platforms, on Instagram. He's Hayderz, right?

H-A-Y-D-E-R-Z. So make sure you guys check him out. Make sure you guys listen to his podcasts. A lot of you've been asking Hayden keep up the great work. You're so entertaining. You're so awesome. And we're I'm gonna see you at Bravo Cod We need to grab a drink at Bravo I know I know we absolutely do and I can't wait to see you to hear what all the things that are coming for you For Jersey, I don't know who at Bravo is listening, but we need my girl Melissa on Jersey where she belongs. Okay? Thank you. And with that, we're going to end the podcast. Love you guys. Thank you all

for listening. Ciao. I'm Justin Sylvester. And I'm Blakely Thornton. Join us for Yestergaze, the podcast where we break down the most pivotal pop culture moments in history and give them the queer love that they deserve. The things that got us riled up during dial-up. Those makeouts that should have been breakouts. And the drops that were cemented in pop. I'm talking Benifer.

Tyra versus Naomi. Tom Cruise jumping on that couch. And so much more, so please rate us, subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you get audio-related content. We also take Memo. And Cash App. ACH?

Or credit card number as well. We're malleable. Yeah, we'll do all. You know, we're gay today. This summer, Pluto TV is exploding with thousands of free movies. Summer of cinema is here. Feel the explosive action all summer long with movies like Gladiator, Mission Impossible, Beverly Hills Cop, Good Burger, and Transformers Dark of the Moon.

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