Apparently Bethenny Frankel and Jill Zarin's long-simmering feud is ... still simmering. If one returns to Bravo next year, the other will not be joining her.
Insiders at Bravo report that Frankel's return to the Real Housewives of New York next season has hit a major snag, and that snag is named Zarin.
"Bethenny hasn't signed a deal with Bravo or the production company yet because she is refusing to come back if arch-enemy Jill Zarin returns," a source dished.
"For Bethenny to return to the show, she wants to move forward. Having Jill come back would just create more false drama in an attempt to recreate the past."
Isn't paying Bethenny $1 million to return for a season of reduced filming doing exactly that for a show that has tanked in the ratings in the last few seasons?
"It's not that Bethenny has any hatred towards Jill, it's simply she has moved on from all of that," the source explained, adding that the two are civil nowadays.
They've even run into each other, and when they do, "exchanged pleasantries."
We're not sure if we believe they were too pleasant, but that's her story and she's sticking to it, and in any case, her return to the series now looks unclear.
Sure, it's better in the long run to treat people with respect, but condescension and burning bridges will bring in ratings and money, so ...
In a sign Zarin could already be in talks to come on board, just last week she was spotted leaving NBC (Bravo's parent company) in New York City.
Insiders have said that "producers need to shake up the cast because the ratings have just plummeted," and have set their sights on their old star.
They even "told Bethenny she could return as a special guest star," in Season 7, "which wouldn't require as much filming, which is appealing to her."
Will she really make more people watch The Real Housewives of New York City online or live on Bravo than in years past? That remains to be seen.
Given that she once likened her experience on the reality show to "flashbacks from Vietnam," it stands to reason that she will only do so under select terms.
Bravo, meanwhile, "knows a Bethenny and Jill reunion would be ratings gold," and producers "don't appear to be caving in to her demands" just yet.
Stay tuned ...
Remember them? Gone but not forgotten, the Bethenny Frankel vs. Jill Zarin tension marked the glory hears of the RHONYC. Jill wasn't alone in picking this fight. Kelly Bensimon, too, suggested Bethenny wanted her dead at one point, among other highlights.
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