Why Wendi McLendon-Covey Skipped The Bridesmaids Reunion At The Oscars
OK, she's actually so real for this.
After 15 years, the 2026 Oscars managed to get the most chaotic wedding party back together again. Well, except for one missing bridesmaid. When Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, and Ellie Kemper took the stage to present the trophies for Best Original Score and Best Sound, Bridesmaids fans couldn’t help but notice one glaring omission. Thankfully, Wendi McLendon-Covey cleared up the confusion over her absence from this long-awaited reunion.
One of the standout moments from this year’s Academy Awards was the cast of 2011’s Bridesmaids taking the stage to present, and razz the celebrity guests a little bit with some good-natured jokes about Leonardo DiCaprio and Stellan Skarsgård. The only member of Lillian (Rudolph)’s bridal party that was missing was McLendon-Covey, who played Rita in the raunchy comedy.
Before fans could get too conspiratorial about why McLendon-Covey wasn’t part of the reunion, the comedian explained the situation on Instagram. “In response to some of the dms I'm getting: I had a neck lift last week because I'm tired of looking like a melting candle,” she wrote alongside a selfie of her head wrapped in a bandage. “So I had to skip the Academy Awards. No drama. Everything is fine.”
As McLendon-Covey’s update highlights, there’s nothing but love among the Bridesmaids ladies. But don’t trick yourself into thinking that chemistry means a sequel could happen. Although Universal Studios expressed interest in making a second Bridesmaids movie after the first one broke box office records in 2011, writer and star Wiig has repeatedly shut down the idea, and her castmates have had her back in saying they wouldn’t do a follow-up without her on board.
“It’s never been a conversation,” Wiig told The Hollywood Reporter in 2024. “That story had an end, and it’s so beloved to me for 10 million reasons, and I think it’s OK to just have it exist in the world as it is.”
So, Bridesmaids 2 may be a no-go, but at least fans can hopefully look forward to a full reunion sometime in the future.
