Four 'Real Housewives of NYC' Stars Fired?

What do you get when you take the real housewives of New York out of Real Housewives of New York? Bravo viewers are about to find out, if a new report is true. The Huffington Post's Rob Shuter claims that Jill Zarin, Alex McCord and Kelly Bensimon -- literally half the cast! -- have not been invited back to the show next season.

In fact, HuffPo says that on Thursday morning Bravo notified Zarin, 47, McCord, 37, and Bensimon, 43, that they would not be returning as full-time cast members. The news could actually come as a relief to fans, since it would mean that Bravo is not firing the entire cast (as was rumored in May). Judging from the sparks that flew at the reunion show, there will be no shortage of drama between LuAnn de Lesseps, Ramona Singer and Sonja Morgan.

But what about new cast member Cindy Barshop? In June, Hollywood Life claimed that the entrepreneurial mother of twins had been axed along with the McCords. But as of last week, it was anybody's guess.

"Obviously nobody’s got it going down right now, but soon -- probably another week everybody will know," Barshop told the press during a Fashion Week event. That said, a source tells Us Weekly that Barshop will indeed be among those getting the guillotine. What's more, Us claims that Singer isn't a sure thing, either, and is in the midst of negotiating a new contract.

So will the remaining housewives be left to carry the show on their own? Huffington Post's insider says that three new ladies will be added to the cast, which Sonja Morgan confirmed Wednesday on New York Live. But, says the source, there's a catch: The fired housewives could reportedly be rehired if any of the new housewives don't work out. That's one way to ratchet up the drama!

Bravo has not confirmed the reported cast changes, saying that "no decisions have been made yet." We only hope they've got some amazing new characters in the wings. After all, women as nutty as Kelly Bensimon don't come along every day!

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/four-real-housewives-nyc-stars-fired/1-a-383002

Marisa Coughlan Marisa Miller Marisa Tomei