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At the end of the last season of Real Housewives of New York City, things weren't looking good for Jill Zarin. Her friendship with castmate Bethenny Frankel was in ruins and Alex McCord had denounced her over cocktails.

"I was ganged up on by Alex, Bethenny and Ramona," she says. "It's so last year and it's so over that I don't want to talk about it anymore. ... But let me tell you, it's hard to fight three against one. One on one is one thing. Three on one, not so even."

Zarin had experienced the curse of Bravo's "Housewives" franchise. Each cast has to create enough drama to fill a season, which means everyone gets to be the villainess at some point.

It's easy to understand how Jill, who was used to acting as a surrogate mother to Bethenny, might feel abandoned. On the show, however, she came off looking jealous, manipulative and out of touch.

"If I say the name Bethenny, I'm gonna get yelled at," she says. "Anytime Bethenny's name comes out of my mouth, even if it's just to answer an innocuous question, fans get upset and say, 'Oh, Jill, get over it.' "

Last May, as she prepped to shoot season-three reunion episodes, Jill found herself at a crossroads. How could she face a show where she had once been the voice of wisdom? She considered

making her exit — not for a spinoff, just to try to save face.

"I asked my husband, Bobby, 'What should I do?' And he said, 'Don't leave,' " she says. "My family

felt that I wasn't portrayed accurately, that I needed to come back, to have another round at it. Then, if I want to leave, I leave with my head held high."

But fixing a reputation on reality TV is tricky. The harder you try, the worse you can end up looking.

Season four opens with Jill at odds with Alex, and promos reveal a confrontation that leaves Ramona splayed on a bed in a cocktail dress, her body racked with sobs.

This time around, she has a new ally: mother of two Cindy Barshop, a fresh addition to the cast. As the season progresses, the women divide into camps that Zarin labels "the blonds and the brunettes." Famously a redhead on TV, she admits: "I was born a brunette."

"Cindy is a nice Jewish girl from Long Island," says Zarin. "I just connected with her right away. And I'm gonna give her the credit for helping me get my mojo back."

Even if the mojo doesn't stick around, Zarin plans to use the show as a marketing platform. Last season, she sold a book, "Secrets of a Jewish Mother," now out in paperback. On the first new episode, she remarks to her husband that she wants to invent a more elegant version of Spanx — something she wouldn't mind people glimpsing at the hem of her minidresses.

Credit: NY Daily News (Patrick Huguenin)