‘RHONY’: Is This Why Barbara Kavovit Didn’t Return as a Full-Time Cast Member?

Barbara Kavovit from The Real Housewives of New York City confirmed in August she would not return to the show next season. Although Kavovit was not a full-time cast member, she appeared throughout season 11.

Kavovit let fans know she would not return when someone asked if she would be on the cast for season 12.  “Don’t think so love,” she responded to the question posed on one of her Instagram posts.

She knew she wasn’t exactly welcomed with open arms from some cast members, but still did pretty well. “I think for me, being new to the group and not being embraced the way I think I could have been embraced, I think I held my own pretty well,” she told Page Six. “It was great to learn how to be around these types of women and still be able to have a sense of self.” While no official word was released about why Kavovit didn’t return, cast member Heather Thomson recently offered one possible reason.

Could it be about Kavovit’s business?

Thomson dished about RHONY on Out in the Wild podcast. She shared that she wouldn’t consider returning to the show for a slew of reasons. But one reason was due to the new contracts cast members have to sign. “By the way, when you sign that contract you basically say you can make me look and say anything you want,” Thomson said.

But then there’s the “Bethenny Clause” she added. “Where people that had businesses then that [Bravo] wanted to own a piece of that business.” Thomson said she was one of the last cast members who did not have to agree to allow Bravo to profit from her business. “I would have never been on the show if I had to give a piece of my brand, that I already made a $32 million business when I launched being on the show.”

Then the podcast hosts had an “ah-ha” moment. They wondered if the new contract could have been why Kavovit, who recently published a book and has her own construction business, didn’t sign with the show.

What is involved with the contract?

Kavovit leads Evergreen Construction, which boasted $27 million in revenue in 2018. So the hosts can’t imagine Kavovit would have wanted to give up a piece of that pie. “I think the contract is, in all fairness to Bravo, I think it’s an uptick in your business,” Thomson remarked. “I think that they watch people launch these businesses on the show and they’re not looking for like $10,000.”

“They’re looking to see when businesses make a good amount of money because of the show, like Skinnygirl,” she continues. Thomson and the hosts comment on the explosion of Bethenny Frankel’s businesses after appearing on RHONY.

If Kavovit would have signed with RHONY, “She probably would have had to give an uptick in her business and how much of construction could she show, it’s not like she has something to sell.” Thomson says with the marketing dollars and platform put behind cast members, she thinks it does ultimately make sense. “I think they have the right to ask and then it is up to the person if they want to sign or not.”