Bravo Confirms Jill, Alex, Cindy, Kelly Fired From Real Housewives of NY

USMagazine, Sunday, September 18, 2011, 7:53am (PDT)

The worst-kept secret in reality TV is finally out and absolutely confirmed.

As previously reported by Us Weekly, Bravo has fired Alex McCord, Jill Zarin, Kelly Bensimon and Cindy Barshop from the Real Housewives of New York.

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The cable network told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement: "Ramona Singer, Sonja Morgan and LuAnn DeLesseps will be returning for season five of The Real Housewives of New York City. We've had a fabulous run with all the ladies and appreciate them sharing their lives with our viewers. It is a friendly departure among the other ladies and we continue to have ongoing discussions with them.

Brooklynite McCord, 37, Tweeted the news as well late Saturday. "Nothing was decided until today, but as of tonight a decision has been reached. [Husband] SimonvanKempen & I are leaving #RHONY, sadly but amicably."

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"Alex and I are sad that it's come to this," Simon Van Kempen told THR. "We had a great four years. We don't intend for this to be the final time you'll see us on television. Everything happens for a reason. We are not happy, we're not sad. It is what it is. We thank our fans. We have tremendous, tremendous outpouring of support...We're not going away. We remain happy and long may that continue."

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A rep for Zarin, 47, told THR: ""Jill is out of town with her husband Bobby and they are visiting her daughter Ally at college for family weekend so she is not speaking with the press. I can tell you that she is very happy and extremely busy with the national launch of her shapewear line Skweez Couture by Jill Zarin which will debut at Lord and Taylor stores across the country this month and then roll out at other national retailers in the coming months. Jill is humbled by the extraordinary amount of media interest in her response and looks forward to personally opening up about all of this very soon and announcing some exciting new projects.

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No word yet from Bensimon or Barshop.

"I have 100 percent faith in every girl that is on the show," returning housewife Sonja Morgan told Us on Thursday. "We didn't get here for any reason except we are all very talented and have a lot to share on screen...I'm sure that everybody has plans. I'm not worried."

Tell Us: Will you watch RHONY without Jill, Alex, Kelly and Cindy?

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