Andy Cohen, the openly gay creator of Real Housewives and host of Watch What Happens Live, has denied rumors he's engaged to ex-hockey star Sean Avery.

“Dude, Sean Avery is straight,” Cohen told a TMZ.com film crew in New York wishing him a happy engagement. “Do you understand that? So a gay guy and a straight guy should be able to be friends without you asking me if we're engaged, right? Very, very straight.”

Fueling the rumor was a shirtless photo of the pair wrapped in an American flag towel on a beach tweeted by Cohen along with the message, “Happy July 4 from me and @imseanavery.”

“Listen,” Cohen told TMZ.com, “I'd be happy if Sean and I were banging. But it's not [happening], you know.”

(Related: Sean Avery joins HRC's campaign to legalize gay marriage in New York.)