Andy Cohen knows that fans of ‘The Real Housewives of Atlanta‘ are NOT happy over the news that the season 12 reunion will now be shot online and not in person due to coronavirus (COVID-19)–but he says that is the only way to get it done, otherwise there will be no reunion at all.

The news that the reunion would be taped virtually first came out via Kandi Burruss just before the weekend, when she made the announcement during a live stream with fans. Andy took to his radio show on Monday to confirm the news and challenges they are facing.

via Bravo:

Andy kicked off his SiriusXM show Andy Cohen Live on Monday, April 6 by setting the record straight on rumors about the reunion that circulated over the weekend following an Instagram Live with Kandi Burruss. “We are going to be shooting the Housewives of Atlanta Reunion virtually,” Andy confirmed. “This is obviously not how we prefer to do it, but life is not how we prefer it right now.”

Andy noted that although he loves going down to Georgia to film the RHOA reunions, that is not possible during the current coronavirus outbreak. “We want to be in the same room, but we cannot risk the health and safety of the Housewives or the incredible crew in Georgia,” he said. “[RHOA] is regarded by many as the Super Bowl of reunion shows, and it is truly one of my favorite reunions to shoot, I look forward to it, and the fact of the matter is it’s either we do it this way or there’s no Super Bowl this year.”

He also explained why waiting until they can safely film the reunion in person isn’t a viable option. “If we wait for this pandemic to be over for when we all are in the same room, it’s gonna delay everything,” Andy said. “We need to move forward, we need to live in reality right now, and the reality is if we’re going to do this, we’re going to do this right now.”

Andy added, “We’re obviously wrapped on this season, and we want to reset the table so that when we can, we want to start shooting next season.”

Get into it below.