It's been a drama-filled year off-screen for the various branches of the 'Real Housewives' franchise and now the focus has shifted to the New York cast.

Yesterday we heard of a casting bloodbath, with 'Housewives' Jill Zarin, Kelly Bensimon, Alex McCord and Cindy Barshop all being pink-slipped.

Now Zarin and McCord have come forward to deny that they've been axed.

McCord told 'The Hollywood Reporter' that "At this stage, I have not been fired. My casting is still in limbo and I expect to hear within the next week."

More wacky goings-on in the lives of White House party-crashers and erstwhile reality TV stars Tareq and Michaele Salahi this week ...

First, there were fears for Michaele's safety after Tareq reported her missing Wednesday. He told TMZ that he feared she'd been kidnapped when she didn't come home Tuesday night after contacting him via a series of strange phone calls.

The pair have become famous for their headline-grabbing antics, but in an interview with NBC Tareq denied it was all a publicity stunt: "I swear to God ... this is not a joke." He said he'd gone to the police because his wife had received numerous threats.

However, Michaele has turned up safe and sound in Tennessee ... having apparently run off with a rock star.

'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' (Mon., 9PM ET on Bravo) continues to tread on uncomfortable ground, considering the suicide of cast-member Taylor Armstrong's husband, Russell, after filming was concluded for the season.

This week, Taylor had a very emotional talk with Kyle Richards about her troubled marriage, saying how badly she wants to make their marriage work, and that she's scared.

Kyle was very candid in her responses to Taylor. "I wouldn't be fighting for something that's really not worth fighting for, to be honest," she said. "You're blaming yourself, and it's not you."

The feud between Teresa Guidice, her husband Joe and her brother Joe has been a long-running theme on 'The Real Housewives of New Jersey' (Sun., 10PM ET on Bravo). We're sure the network loves the drama it brings, but it's been more than enough for Teresa's daughter, Gia.

She wrote a song about it, like to hear it, here it go!

She sang, through tears, of her mother and uncle, "It is just too much. Waking up in the morning. Going to school worrying and worrying. It is just too much."

It may not have a Grammy in its future, but Gia's song was about far more than making music. It was about trying to show her mother how much this ridiculous family feud is affecting the children! And isn't that what we're supposed to be worried about?

'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons this summer due to the off-screen tragedy of Russell Armstrong's suicide.

As Bravo execs hastily re-edited the trailers and footage for the upcoming Season 2 to (perhaps) cast Russell in a less unfavorable light, his mother blasted them for not delaying last night's planned Season 2 premiere.

Despite the media furor, Bravo Media president Frances Berwick said last week that, "given that these episodes were filmed months ago," the premiere would air as planned, albeit with a new pre-taped interview with some cast members discussing the tragedy.

So what did happen on last night's premiere?

As promised, Bravo went ahead with the season premiere of 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' (Mon., 9PM ET on Bravo), despite the recent suicide of castmember Taylor Armstrong's estranged husband Russell.

The spotlight was shone on the therapy Taylor was going through with him to try and work out their marital problems.

Not making that moment any less awkward was Lisa's husband, Ken. "I absolutely wouldn't go," he said of therapy. "I think it's up to the man. If your woman's not happy, you've got to make her happy."

Then later he added, "I'd want to try and sort it out myself. If I had to go to see a therapist to make my marriage better, I would feel weak."

'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Season 2 premiere is still slated to air next week, despite being overshadowed by the real-life tragedy of Russell Armstrong's death.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health published Armstrong's death certificate yesterday, which confirmed that he hanged himself.

Now, it's been reported that Bravo is to air a special episode of the reality show addressing his suicide.

According to 'Entertainment Weekly,' the network has shot interviews with cast members Lisa Vanderpump, Camille Grammer, Kyle and Kim Richards and Adrienne Maloof.

However, Armstrong's estranged wife Taylor is said to have refrained from taking part.

Teresa Giudice sure can nurse a grudge. On this week's episode of 'The Real Housewives of New Jersey' (Sun., 10PM ET on Bravo) we found out what lies at the bottom of her grudge against her cousin Kathy.

(Remember the Battle of the Brownstone back in May after Kathy criticized Teresa's parenting skills?)

Teresa sat down with Melissa to explain the origins of the bad feeling between the two. Turns out that Kathy did something unforgivable and unfamilial: "I was her only cousin on her mother's side here, in America, and she didn't ask me to be in her wedding."

Heinous. So, Teresa got her revenge by not asking Kathy to be in her wedding. And anyway, as Teresa said, she'd already gotten tired of hanging out with Kathy's husband Richie.

The season may be over but the hurt feelings linger on. That's why we have so much fun with these reunion shows for the likes of 'The Real Housewives of New York City' (Mon., 10PM ET on Bravo). They're so successful, they tend to get two reunion installments per 'Housewives' iteration.

What makes it work is that by the time we reach the reunion shows, the women have also watched the episodes aired on television. So they've now seen how horrible they are to one another, and they know what everyone said about them behind their backs, and worse.

Poor Andy Cohen has to sit in the middle, hoping no one jumps up like a 'Jerry Springer' episode to start a fight. Alex turned red when arguing with LuAnn and Jill about who said what behind whose back.

If all you women out there are wondering why guys can come across as weird or creepy when meeting you, it's because you hold all the power in those moments, and it can be incredibly intimidating. Take Caroline's son Albie, for example, from 'The Real Housewives of New Jersey' (Sun., 10PM ET on Bravo).

He's a good-looking guy from a successful family, so what should he fear from Billie Joel's daughter, Alexa Ray Joel? It's not that he's starstruck by her, but that "she's a pretty good-looking girl."

As such, he wants to take the next step and ask her out. But that's making himself vulnerable, as she can respond in whatever way she wants to. He's the one who has to make a move. And because he's so caught up in that, it cripples his ability to talk socially, or apparently say things that don't come across horribly.

Just as 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' are gearing up for Season 2, star Taylor Armstrong has accused her husband Russell of verbal and physical abuse during their five-year marriage.

Their difficult relationship was documented in Season 1 of the reality TV show, but Taylor -- who recently filed for divorce -- has revealed the situation behind the scenes was much worse.

She told 'People' that "I'm mad at myself for tolerating things I should not have tolerated from the first moment."

Meanwhile, Russell hinted that the pressures of being on the show may have helped cause the breakdown of their marriage.

While you didn't get to see it on the reunion special for 'The Real Housewives of New York City,' Andy Cohen revealed the moment he truly lost it during taping of the special on 'Watch What Happens: Live' (Mon., 11:30PM ET on Bravo).

We think he probably deserves a medal anyway for trying to herd those women through proper conversations. They talk over one another so much and jump up so often yelling like they're on 'Jerry Springer,' it's a nearly impossible task. And this time, it just got to be too much.

"This time, ladies and gentlemen, they broke me," Cohen said before revealing the clip. In it, after several tries to get the women to all stop talking he finally yelled at them to "Shut the f*** up!"

Something we've wanted to do on multiple occasions each week during the show. It's fair to say we're actually jealous of Cohen now that he got to do it!

Ramona made things personal, and seemed absolutely delighted by the visceral response she was getting, on 'The Real Housewives of New York City' (Thu., 10PM ET on Bravo) reunion special.

The angrier LuAnn and Jill got, the more she smiled and shifted around in her seat.

It was Andy Cohen's fault for bringing it up, but Ramona's criticism of LuAnn's parenting skills was one of the more stand-out moments in the season. This question led to a lot of yelling back and forth, as Jill jumped to LuAnn's defense, and a lot of unanswered questions.

"Why has your daughter transferred [schools] four times in four years?" Ramona asked. The response: "What does that have to do with our relationship?"

Apparently it's so much fun kicking people out of the Gorgas' Christmas Party that the fine folks at 'The Real Housewives of New Jersey' (Thu., 10PM ET on Bravo) have split it across two episodes. Last week, we got the impromptu departure of Monica Chacon.

This week, though, things got dramatic when Kim G. was abruptly asked to leave. She must have anticipated it, because she brought her own -- ultimately ineffective -- bodyguard. Does that mean Caroline was right to say she only went there to hurt people and stir the pot?

Of course it does!

LuAnn de Lesseps was certainly able to surprise her boyfriend, and all their guests, for their anniversary yacht party on the season finale of 'The Real Housewives of New York City' (Thu., 10PM ET on Bravo). Natalie Cole was in attendance, and had even agreed to do a duet with LuAnn.

The pair had met only a few days before at the studio where LuAnn was working on her own music, which apparently Cole is a fan of. Huh. Really? That's something.

Anyway, Cole agreed to sing at the anniversary party, but only if LuAnn sang with her. What followed then was certainly exciting for Jacques, but odd to listen to. The pair tackled Nat King Cole's 'L-O-V-E' and to say there was a difference in their vocal ability would be a massive understatement.