Real Housewives of New York City Season 7: Return of the Bethenny Frankel-Jill Zarin Feud?

By Kara Michelle Oct 13, 2014 09:23 AM EDT

Real Housewives of New York City Season 7: Return of the Bethenny Frankel-Jill Zarin Feud?

Bethenny Frankel, an original member of the show who was a regular from Season 1 to Season 3, was reported by US Weekly to be returning for Real Housewives of New York City Season 7. According to the online magazine, an insider revealed that "bringing her back is a last-ditch effort" to help boost ratings, which fell to just 1 million viewers during Season 6 from a previous record of 2.6 million viewers. Frankel left the franchise after her televised cat-fight with then fellow cast members Jill Zarin and Kelly Bensimon, who have both also exited from the show. The 43-year-old Frankel, aside from being a TV personality, is an author of five books and an entrepreneur.

Frankel herself has still neither categorically confirmed nor denied the US Weekly report about her return to the show. During an interview she had with SiriusXM Radio host Jenny Hutt to promote her new children's book Cookie Meets Peanut, she said: "I haven't signed or decided to do anything. But it's not what everyone thinks it is... Well I feel like I'm going to get in trouble if I say what I'm actually doing with Andy. So I don't want to say much more, but I haven't signed anything and I have a great relationship with Andy and the housewives and they've asked me to come back for years.... But Andy has a production company now. He's doing a lot of different shows, so we're talking about a couple of different things and deciding together what we're going to do. So that could be why everyone's writing about this."

Radar Online says Frankel won't sign a deal to re-join if Bravo goes through with their plans to re-sign her fellow original cast member Jill Zarin as well. "Bethenny hasn't signed a deal with Bravo or the production company for Real Housewives of New York because she is refusing to come back if arch-enemy Jill Zarin returns. 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," an insider reportedly told Radar. However, the producers aren't going to give in to Frankel's conditions. "They don't want to rule out anyone ever returning to the show. Bravo knows a Bethenny and Jill reunion would be ratings gold, and don't appear to be caving in to her demands," the insider reportedly added.

Real Housewives of New York City Season 7 casting decisions are always on the table until the new season starts filming according to Bravo TV. Since filming hasn't been started, there is really still no final lineup of the cast who will be featured in Real Housewives of New York City Season 7. However, it's probably safe at this point to say that Sonja Morgan, Carole Radziwill, Heather Thomson, and Kristen Taekman will be returning. Ramona Singer on the other hand, according to an exclusive from US Weekly, has been demoted to a recurring role on the Real Housewives Of New York City Season 7 reality show TV series. An original member of the cast since it premiered on air, the 57-year old Singer's close to $600,000 per season paycheck may have been a factor in the network's decision to demote her according to the report. Also, Aviva Drescher has been fired, according to another exclusive from US Weekly. A regular in the show for the past two seasons, she will probably be best remembered for throwing her prosthetic leg in the Season 6 finale at six cast mates who accused her of lying and using fake alibis to avoid going on mandatory group trips to Montana, Berkshires, Saratoga Springs, and elsewhere. LuAnn de Lesseps however will be seen again next season. Lesseps will return no longer as a "friend" but as a full-fledged "housewife."

The Real Housewives of New York City Season 7, once it returns on air, will have host Andy Cohen back at the show's reigns as executive producer. To boost the ratings, Cohen may need to do "a little cast re-shuffling and maybe even a little firing" says Reality Tea.