'Real Housewives of New York' Reunion Part 1 Recap: Ramona Won, Hands Down

Wow, gotta admit that made for great TV, any wonder RHONY remains my favorite 'Housewives' show. The 'Blondes vs. The Brunettes' saga stayed intriguing all season long, but who knew how bitter things would get between the two teams, so much so that I can't see them making up or anyone swtiching sides anytiem soon. That said, I thought Andy Cohen did a tremendous job under what had to be very trying circumstances--he asked all the right questions and called out the 'Housewives' who were clearly being hypocritical. Now granted, I'm definitely with Team Blonde, so call me biased, but here's what I thought of what went down last night anyway:

1) Alex was clearly ready to do battle, getting in on every turn and interrupting Team Brunette members every chance she could get. But I liked how the brunettes tried to play "Ramonja" against Alex, because they're not that close to Alex and Alex desperately wants to be down with the rich, blonde girls (Jill was at her best here, making snide little comments referring to Alex and Sonja not really being that close, but she took it to another level getting nasty and calling Alex an "effing bitch" twice). And while Kelly, LuAnn and Cindy did their best to throw some shots at Alex too (and get her to speak only when spoken to) Alex did get in some great zingers, including the line of the night telling Cindy how she "needs to get laid". However, the problem with Alex still remains her inability to stay calm while making a zinger (practice by watching some tapes of Bethenny when she throws darts) and clearly as long as Simon stays by her side, people will always have a valid reason to not like her (can we please get Alex some friends?).


2) I don't care what "Cosmo" says, Crazy Kelly remains a nutcase. I loved when Andy smacked her down when she was supposedly trying to play "peacemaker" while Cindy and Sonja went at it. And that B.S. story about being "abused"? I'm not buying it, esp. considering that the woman has been arrested before for beating up a guy. Nor am I buying that Kelly isn't phased at all by Bethenny's success. That said, I could go either way on Kelly coming back next season--no one could say she's not entertaining.


3) Ramona, to me, was hands down the winner tonight. She took on the Brunettes with gutso, zeal and plenty of barbs that tore into the hearts of each of them--and she managed to stay calm throughout. Did she go too far talking about LuAnn's kids? Of course. But LuAnn went there first about Ramona's marriage while they were all in Morocco and we all know by now that when it comes to talking about Ramona's family she doesn't play. Ramona also got in some great shots at Cindy and Jill and for the most part put Kelly on ignore where she belongs.


4) Cindy is a bitch. I don't like her at all. She just refused to acknowledge that what she did at Sonja's house, taking that meeting in the kitchen, was flat-out wrong. I don't even have a problem with Cindy picking up her phone or having the stupid meeting, it's just simple etiquette to excuse yourself and ask if you can use another room. Then too, the woman clearly has anger issues--the way she shouts people down and talks down to them is just revolting. And as I've said from the beginning there's this air to her that makes you feel she really thinks she's better than "those people" (i.e. the Housewives)--please Bravo, just be done with her.


5) I just feel bad for Sonja and was surprised when she broke down about how much her marriage meant to her (tho I can't help but think that what she really misses is the lifestyle). Loved how she took down Kelly for talking about her house like that.


6) LuAnn did well for the most part, but she is in clear denial about how rude and unclassy she can be towards people. I liked how she even called out Cindy for taking the conference call in the kitchen at Sonja's. LuAnn may deny it too, but she also "found her voice" this year, esp, when it comes to reunion shows.


7) Compared to last season's reunion Jill had an easy time of it. Her current feud with Ramona doesn't look like it will end anytime soon, but somehow they always find a way to be friends again. That said I can't wait for Part 2.

Can Bravo Please Do Me A Favor And Get Rid Of Cindy Barshop?

All season I've been struggling to understand why Bravo brought Cindy Barshop onto RHONYC in the first place. She's certainly no Bethenny when it comes to wit. Most of the time you see her on screen she's just there with her mouth wide open. She seems to be very pretentious and flat-out dismissive of the rest of the Housewives antics, which comes off as very self-righteous and "I'm better than these people." She could be a racist. But what she did to Sonja on last night's episode, having a conference call in her kitchen after being invited over and catching a hissyfit at Sonja for making too much noise, just took the cake. The woman is rude, has no manners (really, just reschedule the damn breakfast if got an important work meeting or how about excusing yourself and asking to use another another room?), clearly has no manners and just adds nothing positive to the show. Besides that, like I've always said...7 'Housewives' on a show is just too much. Just be rid of Cindy...please!

Who's Out at 'Housewives'? Alex McCord Responds to New Report, Cindy Barshop Reportedly Not Returning

Popeater.com:

Holy catfight! The 'Real Housewives of New York' reunion special was taped last Wednesday at Capital in NYC and it was full of tears, laughter and betrayal but nothing was as interesting as one Real Housewife talking about the show in the past tense. "Cindy [Barshop] barely spoke at the taping," a cast member tells me, "And when she did talk about her time on the show it was in the past tense. She is definitely not coming back."


Also buzzing around today is a new report by HollywoodLife that in addition to Cindy, original housewife Alex McCord will also not be around for a fifth season, but in an exclusive statement to PopEater, Alex rebuffs such claims.


"If I had a dollar every time an 'inside source,' i.e. a cast member, leaked a 'story' that I was out of RHONY, I'd be a multi-millionairess!" Alex wrote to me.


A spokesperson for Bravo released a statement, telling me "No decisions have been made regarding next season and everything at this point is rumor."


The tradition of the 'Real Housewives' coming together at the end of each season to tape a reunion show has delivered HUGE ratings for Bravo. So much so that these tapings are often edited into at least two hours of TV and have recently even provided footage for a third.


"They started taping at 9:00 a.m. and didn't finish until well past 7," an insider tells me. "The first few hours where everyone is on message is always thrown away and replaced by the more juicy stuff that occurs later in the day when everyone's getting tired and letting down their guard. This year Ramona and Jill go at it."


After the taping, Ramona tweeted that it had been a wild day and that she "survived the reunion." The next day Alex McCord agreed, tweeting, "Intense day of filming yesterday for Real Housewives of New York." However, Jill Zarin, surprisingly seemed to have a great time, sharing, "OMG what a day," late Wednesday night.

God, I hope Cindy doesn't come back, talk abut useless.

RELATED: Bravo Rep On 'Housewives' Departure: 'No Decisions Have Been Made'

Cindy Barshop Files Lawsuit, Says Ex-Employee is the REAL Racist

TMZ.com:

"Real Housewives of NYC" star Cindy Barshop is firing back at an ex-employee, who said she was canned because she's black -- claiming the employee is the REAL racist ... and it's killing business.


Barshop filed the suit today in NY on behalf of her spa company Completely Bare -- claiming ex-employee Altovise Collier wasn't fired because she's black ... she was fired because she sucked at her job.


Barshop then turns the tables on Collier, accusing HER of being the real racist -- "In an effort to mask her own deficient work performance and serial on the job screw-ups, Collier, in a racist fashion, asserts that her race, national origin and skin color were the basis for her termination."


Barshop claims Collier only worked for CB for two and a half months -- and was fired over "disciplinary and other work performance problems, including client complaints."


Collier originally sued Barshop last week -- claiming she was the target of racial discrimination in the workplace.


But according to Barshop, Collier's suit is nothing more than a "defamatory campaign" to ruin her professional reputation -- and she wants at least $5,000,000 to settle the score.

Cindy Barshop Slapped With Racial Discrimination Lawsuit

Well, anyone watching RHONYC this season can see how much of a bug Cindy has up her ass, but who knew that besides catty 'Housewives' she doesn't like black people either?

That's some rough spa treatment.


"Real Housewives of New York City" prima donna Cindy Barshop -- who owns "Completely Bare" spas -- was slapped with a discrimination complaint yesterday by a former employee who claims she was tormented and fired because she is black.


Barshop and about 50 other employees gave Altovise Collier, 25, a verbal dressing-down when she started working at the Fifth Avenue flagship shop in March, according to the state Division of Human Rights filing.


Collier, a state-licensed aesthetician, applied online and was interviewed by phone. She said her employers did not know the color of her skin until her first day of work.


"They were very impressed with me -- until they saw me," said a tearful Collier, of Brooklyn, who relocated from Atlanta to take the job. "I was treated like trash and thrown in the gutter, damn near sleeping in the streets."


Collier, who said she was the only black beautician at the store, claims Barshop underpaid her, forking over only about half of her $700 weekly salary.


Also, Collier was paid in cash, and since she had no pay stub, she couldn't lease or rent an apartment or room. Instead, she slept on friends' couches, she said.


Co-workers repeatedly joked that Collier was hired only to "inject some color" into the spa because the chain was going national, she said.


"Everyone treated me badly, like I was in some sort of sorority hazing," said Collier.

'Real Housewives of New York' Recap: Ramona Is 'Pinot Polar'

TheStir.cafemom.com:

This week’s episode of The Real Housewives of New York City was dubbed “Ramona’d” by Bravo, but it would have been more appropriately titled “Blondes Who Need Muzzles.” Sonja Morgan and Ramona Singer were like two little out-of-control yapping dogs biting at people all night.


The first part of the show was a blur because Sonja would not shut up, and I couldn't hear a lot of what was being said about invites and missed invites and the problem with Quogue. Especially when speaking with Cindy Barshop, she wouldn’t let her string more than two words together without interrupting her, usually with an insult. The woman has no filter and big lungs because she doesn’t pause for a breath as she rambles/mumbles.


One thing I was able to make out was that she’s “really well known” for breaking the ice between people. If you remember a few weeks ago, she also proclaimed herself to be “such a great gay icon.” Apparently her talents are known far and wide ... at least to her. Anyway, this week she was determined to do some ice breaking between Kelly Bensimon and Ramona via a surprise attack while Kelly’s kids were present. Brilliant ... not!


Cindy at least had the sense to warn Kelly and tell her not to bring her kids, which was a cool move on her part, but it’s totally going to come back and bite her in the ass because Kelly then confronted Sonja about it and told her in no uncertain terms that it wouldn’t be happening. Stay tuned for Sonja to freak out on Cindy for daring to step on her toes.


Just when it seemed Sonja was going to monopolize the episode with her bad behavior, in waltzed Ramona demanding Pinot Grigio here, insulting people there, and wearing one of the ugliest maroon-colored tracksuits I’ve ever seen.


At Cindy’s birthday party that wasn’t a birthday party in the very unfashionable town of Quogue (which Sonja wouldn’t stoop to enter), Ramona was out of control. LuAnn de Lesseps coined an awesome term for her behavior: “Pinot Polar.” She said when Ramona drinks, you never know what you’re going to get. Cindy and her party guests got Ramona the psycho drunk.

Which Self-Professed ‘Classy’ Real Housewife of New York Is Actually Classy? Anybody?

Terrific article on the Real Housewives of New York City from NYmag.com:

LuAnn de Lesseps


Why She Thinks She's Classy:
-Has branded herself that way through many forms of media, including her book and her dance single, “Money Can’t Buy You Class.”
-Appears to believe in an osmosis-type superiority that results from partnering with Europeans, as evidenced by her aristocratic ex-husband, a Count who gave LuAnn the title she will never relinquish, even in death, and current boyfriend Jacques, a French David Schwimmer look-alike in the wine distribution business.
-Is against discussing pubic hairstyles, even in a friend’s private spa [see: Cindy Barshop].


Why She Might Not Actually Be Classy:
-Wrote a book stating class is the art of being yourself, then later admitted that she wasn’t “being herself” because she didn’t actually write it.
-Clings to pretentious Countess title, although it has not officially been recognized by anyone in the royal family.
-Is completely unaware when she’s being condescending toward others, as shown in the episode when she made a classroom of inner city girls sit through a reading of “her” book, and in every episode when she moans out at least a couple of “Dahhhhling”s.
-Seems to wear excessively large turquoise jewelry pieces for the express purpose of reminding everyone that she’s half Native American.
-Tone-deaf dance single and accompanying video.


Jill Zarin


Why She Thinks She's Classy:
-Co-runs the oft-mentioned Zarin Fabric Warehouse, which only carries the best of the best, and also “runs in a fabulous circle of people” — her tagline during the opening credits of seasons 1-3.
-Has now changed her tagline to “Good or bad, I know who I am, and I own it,” which speaks again to the Countess-endorsed art of being yourself.
-Enjoys taking the less fortunate under her wing, meaning friends who are going through a sad sack period or who are currently without husbands.
-Is a loyal wife to mensch Bobby, a gem who reflects well on her.
-Spearheaded an expensive redecoration of her Upper East Side apartment that landed it the cover of Traditional Home magazine.


Why She Might Not Actually Be Classy:
-Says she knows who she is and owns it, but continually has no idea when she’s being awful and then denies culpability.
-Appears to begrudge the successes (both financial and emotional) of friends once they emerge from their sad sack periods.
-One of the biggest shit talkers on the show, also has a habit of aggressively probing into details of the others lives, most recently when she met housewife Cindy Barshop for the first time and immediately began pressing Cindy about why she has infant twins when she’s clearly old and single.
-Made sending her daughter to fat camp part of her own story arc.
-Related: Launched a line of body shapes for young girls called “Skweez.”

Ramona Singer

Why She Thinks She's Classy:
-Prides herself on being an independent businesswoman and received the “Celebrity Entrepreneur of the Year” award in recognition of her clothing resale company; also has a line of skincare products, HSN jewelry, and Ramona brand Pinot Grigio.
-Designs and sells faith-based jewelry with husband Mario.
-Is happily married, but extremely vocal about the fact that she will never rely on a man for his money.
-Tends to be instinctively true to herself (especially when breaking into dance) and makes a sincere effort to be true with others, going so far as to tell housewife Alex’s husband Simon that she found him creepy, then openly retracting that statement after he grew on her like a fungus. -Named her daughter Avery.

Why She Might Not Actually Be Classy:
-Pushes a faith-based jewelry line that she insists is about faith, when it’s really about making money.
-Unlike Jill Zarin, does very little talking behind her girlfriends’ backs, but does a fair amount of shit talking to their faces.
-Along the same lines, conducts extremely inappropriate employee interviews, telling one young woman — fresh out of college — that she needed to do something about her acne and then handed her a Ramona skincare product.
-Recognized by the other women as something of a spaz, especially when she gets a little Pinot in her.

Jill Zarin, LuAnn de Lesseps, Cindy Barshop, Sonja Morgan, Alex McCord & Ramona Singer @ 2011's TV Land Awards

The Real Housewives of NYC: What Do They Do in 'Real' Life?

Zimbio.com:

The Real Housewives of New York City cast has just embarked on its fourth season for lots more fundraising gala drama, Hamptons poolside chats, and "work/family balance" struggles. We know that Alex McCord has an eccentric hubby, Bethenny Frankel broke off from the franchise to become her own star, and Kelly Bensimon loves to be seen with beautiful people, but who are these women, really? They are most importantly caricatures of themselves, but they must have some semblance of a job, or at least a hobby. Here's a rundown of the key facts about the women we love to hate and hate to love.


Alex McCord


"I've always had opinions, but now people know it."


Profession: Designer
Alex takes charge on design projects like the renovation of Manhattan's oldest camera store, Willoughbys. She also is an avid philanthropist in New York City, of course.


Side Projects: Model and Author! Alex recently signed with New York Model Management. McCord and her hubby wrote a child-rearing book, Little Kids, Big City -- which was ironic considering their tykes run around like monkeys injected with Coke Zero all day.


Family: Hubby, Two sons, Two Cats & a Brooklyn Brownstone. Alex is married to red-head standout, Simon van Kempen, who formerly managed hotels and just recently started a social media company. They have two sons, Francois, 8 and Johan, 5. The Brooklyn-based fam has two cats. 

LuAnn de Lesseps


"I thought I had it good before, but I'm just getting started."


Profession: Author (Like Every Housewife,) Wannabe Singer, "Manners Commentator"
Now that she's no longer so busy being a stately, well-mannered, countess (whatever the heck that means), she has time to be an aspiring author and really bad singer. Ex-Countess Lesseps released an etiquette book in 2009, Class With The Countess, but then she admitted she didn't actually write it. Smart. She also has a column with highly esteemed magazine OK! called "What Would the Countess Do."


She also gave singing a whack -- why not? She began dabbling in music with the dance single "Money Can't Buy You Class." We bet that's what she really thinks. She also appears on TV shows like Joy Behar and Larry King Live as a "manners commentator," but we think the shows just see it as a farce.


Side projects: See 'Profession' above.


Family: Single Mom of Two With New Boyfriend
Formerly the wife of Ferdinand de Lesseps of Suez Canal royalty (he allegedly cheated on her), LuAnn has taken to new boyfriend Jacques Azoulay, the CEO of Gabriella Wines Importer and Distributor. She's been busy spending time in the Hamptons with the new beau and her children, Victoria and Noel.

Cindy Barshop: 5 Things To Know

People.com:

New season, new Housewife, new drama.


Cindy Barshop, 46, has joined the cast of The Real Housewives of New York, which kicked off season 4 on Thursday. Will she be able to hold her own against her new costars – Ramona Singer, Alex McCord, Jill Zarin, Kelly Bensimon Sonja Morgan and Countess LuAnn de Lesseps? Only time will tell, but here are five facts about the Big Apple's newest Housewife.


1. A certain cast member intimidated her
Barshop has likened joining the cast to being on a "battlefield." She admitted to being nervous about meeting Zarin, but told PEOPLE, "Jill was actually the sweetest girl. She really welcomed me. And also Kelly – I heard she's not nice but she was."


2. She's used to hairy situations
Barshop is the owner of Completely Bare, a popular chain of hair-removal spas. She was working in telecommunications for IBM when she uncovered Epilight, a machine that uses light to permanently remove hair, and decided to open her first spa in New York City in 1998. Barshop now has nine stores across the country.


3. She's a (proud) single mom by choice
Barshop has 15-month-old twin girls, Jesse and Zoe, whom she chose to have on her own. "I've had serious relationships, but I wasn't in one when I had my girls," Barshop told Stylelist.com. "I guess what's also unconventional about me is that I'm the breadwinner, taking care of everyone in my life."


4. She has friends in high places
Bethenny Frankel's replacement didn't come out of nowhere. "I got interested in the idea of being on the show because I knew some of the ladies," she has said. "I know Ramona Singer from the Hamptons and Jill Zarin was a client at Completely Bare."


5. You can thank her – or blame her – for "vajeweling"
Barshop is credited with inventing the "vajewel" treatment, which is applying crystal designs to a woman's private parts for decoration. Her spa also offers "vatoos," a temporary airbrushed design for down there.

From watching the show my first impressions of Cindy aren't good. First, I'm not a fan of a woman who chooses to have kids without a dad and Cindy's way too proud of that choice for my taste. Second, anyone who thinks Jill and Kelly are really "nice" is either seriously delusional or in extreme denial and last, she's definitely no Bethenny, but instead boring and tries too hard to fit in with the group. But then why any 'Housewives' show needs as many as 7 women on it is still perplexing to me.

The Real Houswives of New York City On "The View"

Cindy Barshop: Joining New York Housewives Felt Like Survivor!

USmagazine.com:

So what's being a Real Housewives of New York City cast member really like? Try a real-life version of Survivor, according to new kid on the block Cindy Barshop.


(UsMagazine.com first revealed in September that Barshop, the owner of Completely Bare salons, will join the show's fourth season, which returns in February.)


After being tossed into Bravo's infamous ring of housewives, the single mother of one-year-old twins says it took a little getting used to. "No one gave me a handbook on how to be a housewife or who to interact with them or how to be with them," she told WWD. "It was like being on Survivor."


Just like the competitive reality show, players need a strategy to succeed. "I had to work at making myself relevant...showing my qualities and showing them right away. This is not a place where you slowly learn about somebody or they slowly learn about you," Barshop, 46, explained. "And there is an etiquette."


That doesn't mean Barshop always played nice. "She is very kind, but let me tell you, she is a very sharp lady. When she has to be aggressive [on the show], she has been," Barshop's brother, Howie, said. "She did get aggressive when she had to."

I like how Cindy points out how you can't be complacent on the show--future new 'housewives' outta take a lesson from that.

Vajazzle with Completely Bare Spa's Cindy Barshop

Mercedes Sanchez from BeChicMag.com goes to completely bare to chat about the phenomenon that's the Vajazzle! Also called "completely bare with a flair", Mercedes gets vajazzled with Swavorski Crystals by Cindy Barshop . See how you can decorate your "precious lady" at home after bikini or Brazilian wax.

Cindy Barshop Confirmed As A Real Housewife of New York

EW.com:

The Real Housewives family has welcomed a new addition. Bravo has confirmed to EW that Completely Bare founder Cindy Barshop will be the newest cast member of the network’s hit The Real Housewives of New York. (The New York Post had the news first.) So what do we know about Barshop? At this point, the bare (heh) minimum: She runs the chain of day spas that focuses on waxing and laser hair removal, is a native of Long Island, and is a single mother of two twin girls named Zoe and Jesse who were born in 2009.


Of course, those three things tell us nothing about Barshop’s personality. And, really, there’s only one thing every fan of the Bravo series wants to know: Which Housewives cast member will she spar with? My guess is she’ll be friend to fellow businesswoman Alex and fellow Long Island native Jill, and the Post‘s piece already states that she’s pals with Ramona. The story also states, however, that she “has connections” to Kelly, which sounds ominous — or at least, as ominous as things can get for someone who lives in a world of cartwheels, lollipops, and rainbows. (And it would be perfect to see Barshop pick up where Bethenny left off — even if Bravo insists that the new cast member is not a replacement for Bethenny Frankel, who has long been rumored to be leaving the show.) And Barshop’s “cool and laudable” life decisions that “will invite watercooler conversations” — according to Bravo Programming Vice President Christian Barcellos — will surely transform LuAnn into the patronizingly supportive frenemy, darling, and Sonja into the passionately supportive friend.

I don't know, but from looks alone Cindy appears sorta goofy.

Five Things To Know About Cindy Barshop

EOnline.com:

Last seaon's Real Housewives of New York brought the drama big time. There were mental breakdowns, a friendship destroyed, even a wedding and a baby.

But now that Bethenny Frankel has decided to call it quits, producers are throwing a new Housewife into the mix. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Cindy Barshop.

Here are five things you must know about the newest addition to the cast.

1. She Loves Clean Lines—Bikini Lines, That Is: Barshop is the proud owner of the lucrative Completely Bare spas in New York and Palm Beach, which specialize in laser hair removal all over.  They are also experts in "vajazzling" one's nether regions. Her celeb clients include Kimora Lee Simmons, and she has a reputation for being a hardass businesswoman.

2. She's Not Afraid of Breaking Out the Credit Card:  Barshop is able to switch up her style, and is known to wear minis by Proenza Schouler and tower in sky-high heels. She loves fashion so much, she once almost bought a $25,000 Hermès Birkin bag at Maxfield's in L.A., then decided against it last-minute.

3. She's a Kickass Single Mom to Twin Girls:  And she went through a long IVF process to have them. Zoe and Jesse, born in 2009, are being raised by Barshop without the help of a man.

"What many of you probably don't know is that I spent years going through several IVF treatments to have a baby," Barshop writes on her blog. "It took determination, desire, painful shots, weight gain, and emotional stress to have them in my life. I look at them and know that in a heartbeat I would do it all again and again. Getting pregnant and becoming a mother has been, and will continue to be the most important thing I have ever and will ever do in my life."

Unless she can bring as quick a wit and can keep it real with Team Jill then I don't know how you can replace Bethenny. Ramona's too psycho and while Alex found some balls last season, you can't help but think that that was because of Bethenny (as Bethenny herself said). Funny too how Bravo cast aside Jennifer Gilbert like she was never there.

Ramona Singer Confirms Addition of Cindy Barshop to Real Housewives of NYC

TheHollywoodGossip.com:

Cindy Barshop is the owner of the Completely Bare Salon, a boutique in New York City that specializes in total and complete hair removal.

Now, it's been confirmed by Ramona Singer that this socialiate will be baring her soul on national television, as Barshop will definitely be coming on board The Real Housewives of New York City next season.

"She's really a fabulous woman," Singer told Us Weekly. "I've known her for a while. We have a lot in common. She's independent, a strong business woman. She's a very impressive woman: Smart, powerful. I think she will be an amazing addition to our crew."

With Bethenny Frankel on her own show, Singer also expects "a lot less drama" on the new season.

"Last season got very dark and sad," she said. "This season will be a lot more lighthearted. There is definitely a lot to look forward to!"

Bravo is yet to confirm the addition of Barshop, or a premiere date for the next season of this franchise.

I have to admit: the prospect of not having Bethenny next season on RHONYC doesn't make me enthused at all. They need someone to keep it real with Team Jill and Ramona likes to play both sides of the fence too much to do that, Sonja is hard to take seriously and while Alex finally found her mojo last season, she can't do it alone. I hope this Cindy lady is up to the task.

New Member Of Real Housewives Of New York City Is Cindy Barshop?

TheHollywoodgossip.com:

Cindy Barshop, founder and owner of Completely Bare, a successful chain of day spas specializing in hair removal, is joining The Real Housewives of New York City.


We actually did a story on her years ago because she's Paris Hilton's bikini waxer. Who knew? To think, only she and a few dozen guys have seen Paris like that.


Anyway. With three locations in Manhattan, plus branches in Palm Beach, Fla. and Scarsdale, N.Y., Cindy Barshop's empire is self-made, and extremely successful.


But it's not all business for her. She's also single mom to twin girls Zoe and Jesse, born in 2009. Adds a source close to the new star: "She's funny and very nice!"


Her casting on The Real Housewives of NYC was confirmed by Us, although the identity of the new housewife has been a carefully-guarded secret all summer.


"We have this new girl coming on. She is very happy with herself," Ramona Singer said. "Not to say I'm not going to get pissed at her or have a fight with her."


Thank goodness.


Barshop replaces the newly-departed Bethenny Frankel. Ramona, Kelly Bensimon, Jill Zarin LuAnn de Lesseps, Alex McCord and Sonja Morgan round out the cast.

Judging from her bio I'm not seeing Cindy being much of a difference-maker.