Alex McCord and Simon van Kempen: Leaving RHONY Is "Bittersweet"

USMagazine, Monday, September 19, 2011, 4:45pm (PDT)

Parting is such sweet sorrow.

Alex McCord and her husband Simon van Kempen recently received word that they will no longer be featured on Bravo's Real Housewives of New York City, despite being one of the original couples on the hit show.

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"After four seasons on Real Housewives of New York City, Simon and I are moving on. It's a completely friendly departure and while it was their decision and not ours, we are in close communication with both Bravo and the production company about our next move, in addition to fielding outside offers," McCord, 37, tells Us Weekly exclusively.

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"Simon and I recently launched a home goods company, Aluxe Home, and we've been so involved in the textile market week that began today that it feels a bit like being shot out of a cannon!"

Adds former hotelier van Kempen, 47: "It was bittersweet to finally get the call last Saturday but we knew it was on the cards. Four years is a long time in TV land and we had no idea when we auditioned in 2006 that we'd still have been on air in 2011. It's been a bumpy ride; sometimes great and sometimes not, but it's been an experience that I don't regret having done."

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Fellow Real Housewives Jill Zarin, Kelly Bensimon and Cindy Barshop, have also been axed from the Bravo hit. Ramona Singer, Sonja Morgan and LuAnn de Lesseps will return for a fifth season, in addition to several new cast members who have yet to be announced.

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