Photo via flickr.com

Dr. Robert Rey, otherwise known as “Dr. 90210″ from the Bravo TV show of the same name, has placed his 6 bedroom Beverly Hills on the market for $5,295,000.

The reason for the move from the “palatial mansion” (as Rey described it in one episode) is unknown, but I am wondering if it has to do with the economy, or if the Rey’s will be honoring Hayley’s wish to move to Calabasas after all?

Photo via flickr.com

Countess LuAnn de Lesseps, one of the stars of Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of New York,” has separated from count Alexandre de Lesseps after 16 years of marriage.

De Lessep’s publicist released a statement on Tuesday stating that the count and countess “plan to remain friends and their primary focus will be to do what is best for their two children.”  Her publicist also confirmed that de Lesseps would be retaining her title.

There is a rumor that the countess separated from her husband after discovering that he was in a relationship with another woman, but her publicist declined to comment on it.

De Lessep’s etiquette book, “Class with the Countess,” arrives in bookstores on April 16.

Photo Courtesy of Flickr.com

This news may be from January this year, but it is new news for me and I am still in shock!  DeShawn Snow from season 1 of Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” announced to Essence magazine that she would not be returning for the second season.

In her interview with Essence, she stated that the producers decided not to take her option and that she “didn’t see it coming.”  According to Snow, the producers wanted to “pump up the drama” for the second season and did not feel that Snow would fit in with the new direction of the show.  Snow  stressed that there were no hard feelings about not returning to RHOA.  She is currently writing a faith-based book series for young adults, focusing on her foundation and writing monthy columns for streamingfaith.com.  Snow encouraged her fans to join her website and “know that you haven’t seen the last of me.”

The thirty-year-old aspiring actress and singer writes, “I have so much coming up in these next couple of months and I am really excited that I have a place to keep you guys updated.”

Her official blog also includes personal photos, a description of her recent trip to the Bahamas and other news.  I was pleased to see under the “news” section that a second season of RHOA was announced on December 16th!  I can’t wait for the ladies to return to Bravo!

Lynne Curtin's arm cuff designs

In “Real Housewives of Orange County” news, newcomer Lynne Curtin is soon going to be capitalizing on her reality show fame with her own line of swanky arm cuffs.

According to reports, Curtin plans to launch a commercial website at any time to sell her unique arm cuffs nationally.  She currently sells her cuffs through two Orange County boutiques, one of them being Newport Beach’s Apropos.  Pricing for her arm cuffs starts at $275.

Photo via film.com

We all know that one housewife will be leaving on this Tuesday’s episode (December 9) of Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Orange County”, but who will be filling the void after the mystery housewife is gone?  The answer is Lynne Curtin, a “sexy, stay-at-home mother of two teenage girls.”  She is also a former gymnast, does not like to say no to her children and has a “strong jaw.”  Curtin and her husband, Frank, will be making their “housewives” debut in the December 16 episode. 

Here’s more information about Curtin.

Re-posted from realitywanted.com:

The toned and tanned Lynne Curtin, a sexy, stay-at-home mother of two teenage girls, joins the cast of Bravo’s hit docu-series “The Real Housewives of Orange County” in a new episode airing Tuesday, December 16 at 10 PM ET/PT.

Tamra Barney, Vicki Gunvalson and Jeana Keough are still rattled over meeting blonde bombshell Gretchen Rossi. But tensions escalate even more when the newest housewife, Lynne Curtin, attempts to join the clique. Lynne and her husband of over 18 years, Frank, are happily married and own a beautiful seaside home in Laguna Beach, Calif., where they enjoy every minute of their active Southern California lifestyle. A former gymnast, Lynne is an avid surfer, runner, horseback rider and kick-boxer – and she has the toned body to prove it. Lynne does her best to keep control of her outspoken teenage girls – Raquel, 18, and Alexa, 16 – but her desire to be a friend to them often interferes with her lackluster disciplinary efforts. Lynne’s laid-back philosophy on life flows into her lax parenting style: “I want to be the cool mom… I don’t want to say no.”

Meanwhile old friendships are becoming strained with the other housewives as a rift begins to form between longtime friends and neighbors, Jeana and Vicki. Jeana defends Vicki’s ex-husband, prompting Vicki to yell, “Don’t you dare defend him. He never gave me a dollar in child support or helped me a minute.” Jeana feels differently: “I always felt Vicki took the children by moving from Chicago, and how could he be a good father when she took them to California.”

• Vicki Gunvalson:  She has been having marital problems with Don since season 3 and it has seeped into this season as well.  She may be leave the show to focus on her marriage or growing empire within the insurance industry.
• Jeana Keough:  Her career as a real estate agent is steady, but she is legally separated from Matt Keough and may be ready for a brand new start – sans “The Real Housewives.”
• Tammy Barney:  The least likely of the 5 to leave, being that she is still considerably new to the series and her real estate career is also steady.  She may leave to focus on helping her husband, Simon, with his new business venture.
• Lauri Peterson:  Lauri (one of the original three “housewives” remaining on the show) has been clearly exasperated with blending families and raising 7 children.  She appears to be happy with her cushy new lifestyle with George and does not seem to have it in her anymore to be on the show.
• Gretchen Rossi:  She is “The New Girl” and has stolen the title of “Gold Digger” from Lauri Peterson (if you watched last night’s episode, it came from Lauri’s own mouth!).  Her fiancee, Jeff Beitzel, passed away in September, so the question is this:  Will she remain on the show, or leave right away to mourn his death?

My prediction for who is leaving the show next week: Lauri Peterson!  I really hate to say it, but I don’t think that she has the enthusiasm for it anymore.  Her whole existence centers around George now, and she seems eager to say good-bye to the series.  She seems more private now and her family-focus may not be newsworthy…  IF she leaves the series (as I suspect she is), what will become of Ashley’s fledgling skincare line?  If she is the “face” and there is no reason for her to be covered on “Real Housewives” anymore, how will they promote it?

Update (12/10):  As you probably already know, the mystery housewife WAS Lauri after all.  I didn’t want to see her go, but I understand her reasons for departing.

Also, Brittany (see comment below) wisely pointed out that Tamra quit her job as a real estate agent to become a stay-at-home mom.  It is in her bio on the bravotv.com website.  Thank you for pointing that out!  She hasn’t mentioned that on the show (yet).

Photo via flickr.com

Padma Lakshmi, the glamorous host of Bravo’s, “Top Chef,” is the cover girl and feature of a story in November’s Harper’s Bazaar.

I have reposted the full article below, and you can view the photo gallery here.

Reposted from Harpersbazaar.com:

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Not that anyone asked, but Padma Lakshmi, the model, cookbook author, actress, jewelry designer, and host of Bravo’s Top Chef, believes that her greatest asset is not her beauty, her intellect, or her indomitable gumption. Rather, it is her taste. “Whether it’s my taste in food, my taste in clothes, my taste in music, furnishings, or art,” she says confidently, “that is the one skill I have, and it can be applied to anything.”

Due to the success of Top Chef, “I can get a table at any restaurant I want,” Lakshmi says. And though she hates to drop names — “It makes me feel cheesy” — she now counts Charlize Theron as one of her fans. “She even did an impression of me. My assistant said, ‘Oh, my God, that is totally Padma.’”

Originally, Lakshmi imagined the show as good publicity for her 2007 cookbook, Tangy Tart Hot & Sweet, but turned down the first season to work on a BBC miniseries. Katie Lee Joel hosted instead and was replaced. “She’s a nice girl,” says Lakshmi, “but she was ill prepared for it. I think a lot of it wasn’t Katie’s fault. The producers really wanted me and didn’t get me, and it’s hard for anyone to come into those shoes. But I don’t think she’s suffering at all.”

It is just a few days after Lakshmi’s 38th birthday. “I’m probably one of the few models or actresses who will just tell you my age. I feel good. I really like the way I look,” she says while snacking on the almonds, olives, and dried plums she’s laid out in the living room of the modest East Village apartment she moved into after her marriage with literary giant Salman Rushdie ended in the summer of 2007.

The living room’s focal point is undoubtedly the swing. A businessman friend had it made for her after she searched, without luck, for one on Craigslist and eBay.

Lakshmi jumps out of her chair to demonstrate. “You really swing!” she squeals, her slippers dropping to the floor as she glides from her kitchen counter to her green velvet couch. Though Pamela Anderson cavorted in the nude on a swing in her living room while hubby Tommy Lee played the piano, Lakshmi claims hers isn’t so naughty.

“I thought it would be a really romantic thing to have,” she muses. “If I can’t sleep, I come out here and swing in the dark.”

The swing contributes to Lakshmi’s idea of a little bohemia. Her life downtown is very different from when she was attached, for just over three years, to Rushdie. When asked if she misses married life, she thinks for a moment and answers, resoundingly, “No.” She explains, “I miss the good times I had with the man I was married to, but I’m much happier today than I was a year and a half ago. In order to get there, I had to walk through an ocean of crap. But I’ve built my life around the way I want to live now, and my little corner of the world feels nice.”

Days she is not filming Top Chef are shared with an assistant and a designer who, from a small office in her apartment, are helping her develop a line of Indian-inspired jewelry. “My success is their success,” Lakshmi says steadfastly of her two employees. “That’s really how it works.” Sometimes the girls work until 10:00 p.m., “sometimes they leave at 4:00 for pedicures.” It’s a far cry from the global success of, say, Heidi Klum or Tyra Banks, but it’s a living. “I wasn’t a Sports Illustrated model. I was much more a couture girl. I’m sure that those girls made a shitload more money than I did,” she explains. “It’s with great humility that I say that those girls have achieved a lot.”

She describes her apartment as something of a street fair. There’s always “fairy water,” Lakshmi’s spice-and-fruit-infused water, and “there’s always food, always music and candles and incense. I’ll have a girlfriend who’s a DJ stop by for a drink. My girls walk around barefoot. It’s like Andy Warhol’s Factory, but in gypsy-girl mode.” Adding to the Warhol spirit is the large portrait of Lakshmi wearing a diaphanous red dress that exposes her breasts, painted by her longtime friend Francesco Clemente.

At the moment, Lakshmi’s apartment is a shrine to her fashion obsessions. A few old Stella McCartney pantsuits and Tom Ford archival pieces hang in her bedroom closet, while a bureau is devoted to traditional saris and costumes from acting gigs like the Ten Commandments miniseries. Her dressing room features new Chanel boots, a new bejeweled Roger Vivier clutch she picked up in Paris, and the outfit her friend Marc Jacobs sent her to wear at his show.

Lakshmi’s hope is that one day soon she will be able to expand into the townhouse she’s eyeing eagerly next door. What’s more, it would give her space to start a family. “I would like to have some children very soon,” she says. As for her personal life, “I date some. I think it’s hard. As you grow older, you become a little less malleable.”

According to Lakshmi, what you see is what you get. “There was no interior decorator who came into my apartment and said, This would look kitschy and great. There wasn’t a ghostwriter who said, It would be cool if you had an essay about Morocco in your cookbook,” she says. “The things I’ve accomplished have really been on my own steam. For good or bad, every word, every picture, every taste is mine.”

“What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, and it should stay there.  I don’t remember anything,” said Tequila to Us magazine.

Photo courtesy of flickr.com

Former “Full House” star and new mom, Jodie Sweetin, filed papers on Wednesday for legal separation from her husband, Cody Herpin.

Sweetin has moved out of their home and has taken their seven-month-old daughter, Zoie, with her. Herpin said that he was “dumbfounded” by the separation. “Over this past month something has been different. I’m concerned about our daughter and I just want (Zoie) home,” said Herpin to People magazine. Sweetin’s agent, Stella Alex, maintained that she is “absolutely clean” and that she felt that it was “the way she had to go.” Alex declined to state any more details about the separation because Sweetin stated that she did not want to be disrespectful to Herpin.

Why is this related to “Reality Chex”? The couple announced in September that they were filming for an “edgy” kind of reality show that would follow them in their careers and their new baby. At the time, the show was still waiting to be picked up by a network. They were in negotiations with two networks, one of them being VH-1.

Source: People