Celeb Best Blog

Bethenny Frankel and Andy Cohen attend the 2011 James Beard Foundation Awards at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center on May 9, 2011 in New York City.

Credit: Wire Image

On last night’s episode of Watch What Happens Live Andy Cohen thought the biggest news bombshell that would drop on the show was the fact that Osama Bin Laden had been killed. But, midway through the show guest Alexis Bellino from Real Housewives of Orange County dropped what many OC fans would consider at least a similarly sized bomb: her husband Jim Bellino used to date new cast member Peggy Tanous!

This was a story we were already working on, but since Alexis actually confirmed it on the show I felt like we show go ahead and run with it. We have a source that was in the same circle of friends as Jim Bellino and Peggy Tyler (Peggy Tanous’ modeling name – see more on that here and here) who says they began dating in 1996 and continued through 1997 before Jim dumped her.

So that means Slade Smiley isn’t the only member of the Multi-OC Club! This sheds a whole new light on the tensions developing between Alexis and Peggy this season!

We’re working on getting more info – and if we do we’ll either update this post or add a new post and add a link below. (If you know anything more about Jim and Peggy’s time together feel free to drop us a line at starcasmtips (at) yahoo.com!

(Just in case you were wondering, YES the picture was Photoshopped. It is a photo of Jim Bellino from 2010 and Peggy Tanous as Peggy Tyler when she modeled for Bench Warmer pin-up trading cards in 2002.)

Credit: Starcasm (Asa Hawks)

If there's one thing we can say for Andy Cohen, he knows how to mix it up on Bravo's Watch What Happens Live. On Thursday's (April 28) episode, not only did he have former Real Housewives of DC cast member, Cat Ommanney, on after the network unceremoniously canceled her series, but he threw in divorced royal, the Real Housewives of New York's LuAnn De Lesseps.

It didn't take long before Cat began showing her dislike for LuAnn when Andy played a game in which The Countess judged the Brit (who made tabloid headlines after making out with Prince Harry) on her royal manners.

Not only that, but Cat took to Twitter and Facebook to make sure her feelings on The Countess were clear.

"Sorry everyone, I just wanted to clarify," she writes. "I REALLY DIDN'T ENJOY at all, being on #WWHL with @countessluann infact thought she was #notmybagatall #condescending and hope we never cross paths again #ever."

So, what did LuAnn have to say in response? "Well that was fun....," she tweets.

Credit: Zap2It (Jethro Nededog)

Bravo exec Andy Cohen has denied reports that the channel's popular Real Housewives franchise is headed to Las Vegas and Scottsdale, Arizona.

Newspapers in both cities claim camera crews have been spotted shooting wealthy wives across town and testing out possible candidates for the shows. Among the women reportedly being filmed: Wayne Newton's publicist, Tricia McCrone (for Vegas) and Phoenix Suns basketball star Steve Nash's ex-wife, Alejandra (for Scottsdale).

But in a Tweet Friday, Cohen said, "Bravo is not shooting or casting for Vegas or Arizona Housewives. It is not true and we have no association to either project."

Credit: Hollywood Reporter

An episode of Andy Cohen's Watch What Happens Live turned into a replay of the disputed 2000 presidential election for Bravo when "Real Housewives of New York star Jill Zarin challenged poll results.

Watch What Happens recaps recent Bravo shows and includes star interviews. The uproar began the other night when Cohen asked viewers to vote whether they were on "Team Jill," supporting Zarin, or "Team Ramona," in support of Zarin rival Ramona Singer.

When the results came back in favor of Ramona, Zarin flipped her lid, according to sources, and demanded a recount.

"They had a problem," Zarin told Page Six. "My initial reaction was surprise, based on my own fans and how they were telling me they supported me. That night, we said, 'We don't think these numbers are right.' "

Sources told us that Zarin went so far as to tell Bravo she was getting her lawyer to "audit" the polling numbers. But the "Real Housewife" told us she didn't go that far.

"I didn't call a lawyer at 2 in the morning," Zarin joked, apparently meaning the hour when she'd have had to jump into action -- although the show is over at 11:30 p.m. "To do that, I'd have to have the best attorney in the world, who'd take that call at 2 in the morning even if I wasn't in jail."

A Bravo rep admitted that the network did find voting irregularities but said the problem was not more widespread: "There was a calculation error. It has been corrected and won't happen again." The rep said votes were tabulated by a third party, not by Bravo.

Meantime, after all the drama, Zarin still lost. The recount moved her from getting support from 22 percent of fans to 41 percent.

Credit: Page Six

After Bravo officially announced that the Real Housewives of D.C. wouldn't be returning to the small screen, former castmates Lynda Erkiletian and Catherine Ommanney talked to Radar Online exclusively about their disappointment.

Catherine also had some harsh words for Michaele Salahi, addressing her recent comments that there can't be a Real Housewives of D.C. without her.

"Get over yourself, Michaele! There are a lot of things that can be done without you, actually a majority of things which aren't psychologically disturbing," Catherine told Radar Online exclusively.

"I think there was disappointment and relief," Lynda told Radar Online of the network pulling the plug.

But Catherine said she wasn't shocked by the news. "I was slightly disappointed, but not really surprised. It was the right decision.

"Bravo knew that we weren't prepared to work with Michaele again. I don't think any money or fortune or success was worth the mental strain with her, full stop. I couldn't do that again," said Catherine, who's working on a follow-up to her book, Inbox Full.

Catherine was quick to point out Michaele wasn't the reason for the cancellation. Lynda agrees, adding that she would have come back -- without Michaele.

"I wouldn't have done it if Michaele was a part of it, mainly because I found her husband to be unpredictable and scary at times."

The ladies understand the network's decision, but it doesn't soften the blow.

For now, the ladies still stay in touch, but not with Michaele, who they haven't seen since last year's televised reunion: "We're trying to be there to support each other," Lynda said. "That will continue."

Credit: Radar Online

Bravo is taking its always unpredictable and often chaotic Real Housewives reunion show to the next level: A live telecast.

For next month’s Real Housewives of Miami reunion special hosted by Andy Cohen, Bravo will run the special live on the East Coast.

The Housewives reunion special has become the Mad Max Thunderdome of Bravo — Have a dispute? Housewives in conflict? Save it for the reunion! You remember last year the Housewives of New Jersey got into a headline-making red-faced brawl, then the ladies of Beverly Hills weren’t exactly civil during their reunion in January.

Watch What Happens: Live Miami Housewives Reunion will air on April 5 at 9 p.m. ET. (with a seven-second bleep delay, of course).

Credit: Entertainment Weekly (James Hibberd)

When Bravo launched the Real Housewives of Miami, it seemed like there was hope for a franchise in every city. However, Bravo’s Andy Cohen exclusively tells OK! that Miami is the last stop for the Housewives train. Last night, OK! talked to the host with the most as he helped celebrate MCC Theater’s 25th Anniversary in NYC. Andy sounded off on some of the most controversial housewives in seasons past and he even told OK! which franchise he would love to see Whitney Houston star in!

When asked about which city he would look to next to find more housewives, he told OK!, “I really feel like we’re done.” So is Miami the last stop on the Housewives train? Andy answered, “Yeah.”

But if any housewife thinks this is her chance to star in a spin-off series like Bethenny Frankel, she should think again. Andy explained of the other housewives, “I think they’re all good where they are.”

Even though he might think they should stay put in their hometowns, Andy had nothing but love for some of his favorite housewives. The king of Bravo used word association to describe the happy homemakers.

OK!: Camille Grammer

AC: Rich!

OK!: Teresa Giudice

AC: Strong!

OK!: Bethenny Frankel

AC: Hilarious!

OK!: Nene Leakes

AC: Bam!

Andy continued to gush about Miss Leakes, “She’s just in your face and fun!”

He then told OK! that he would also like to see Whitney Houston kick it with Nene and the gang on the Real Housewives of Atlanta. “I’d like to see her shake things up with those women.” Maybe she could team up with Kim Zolciak for “Tardy for the Party Part II”!

Credit: OK! Magazine (Evan Real)

Has NeNe Leakes gotten too big for her Bravo britches?

An insider tells us Leakes' stint as a cast member of the Real Housewives of Atlanta may be coming to an end for a number of reasons - including her extra-grande ego.

The reality star, who shot to fame on the franchise along with "Tardy for the Party" singer Kim Zolciak and amateur designer Sheree Whitfield, has become best known for her catty comments and friendship with Bravo exec and television personality Andy Cohen.

But our insider tells us that Cohen's relationship with the housewife has become strained due to NeNe's "disrespectful" and "arrogant behavior."

The insider says Neakes' aggressive behavior toward Zolciak - one incident of which was depicted on the reality series - has prompted the network to reevaluate NeNe's position on the show.

At the end of season two, Leakes grabbed the aspiring singer by the throat. The two began season three by making up but had fallen out again by last month's finale.

Apparently, Zolciak is not the only one who wants nothing to do with Leakes. "She's alienated all of the women other than Cynthia [Bailey]," the source says. "So, as of now, the plan is to "phase" Leakes out within the first two to three episodes of season four, which begins in October.

A spokeswoman for Bravo has no comment.

Credit: NY Daily News' Gatecrasher