Bravo TV may have found a replacement for Bethenny Frankel on The Real Housewives of New York City .
Following the sudden exit of Frankel last week, a Page Six report has revealed that 36-year-old Leah McSweeney, the founder of Married to the Mob clothing, recently began filming new episodes of the series with her friend and potential co-star Tinsley Mortimer, who has been with the show since its ninth season.
According to the report, footage of McSweeney and Mortimer filming with one another was shared on a Real Housewives fan account on Instagram on Saturday and in the clip, the two women were seen enjoying a couple of glasses of wine as they sat and chatted at a hotel.
The Instagram account also shared a second video on their page which featured Ramona Singer filming scenes for Season 12 at one of LuAnn de Lesseps’ cabaret shows, Countess and Friends .
In addition to her clothing brand, Page Six revealed McSweeney has also worked as an advice columnist for Penthouse magazine and co-hosts the Improper Etiquette podcast. She is also a contributor of Hypebae and Mass Appeal and shares one young child, daughter Kier, with a former partner.
Although McSweeney hasn’t ever made any cameo appearances on The Real Housewives of New York City , she isn’t new to reality TV. In fact, she’s appeared on Bravo TV’s former series, The Millionaire Matchmaker , in 2010, and was also seen on VH1’s Love & Hip Hop: New York .
While Bravo TV has not yet commented on any casting decisions for The Real Housewives of New York City Season 12, Page Six revealed that all of the full-time cast members of Season 11, aside from Frankel, are expected to be back, including Singer, Dorinda Medley, Sonja Morgan, and de Lesseps. As for part-time Season 11 cast member Barbara Kavovit, she recently told fans on Instagram that she did not believe she would be back .
In June, prior to the start of production, Kavovit expressed interest in returning.
“There’s still things that are left undone,” she told Us Weekly . “And I kind of might want to get back into it and, you know, they filmed so much of me on my job sites, but they never aired it. And I just think that I’m really grounded and I think I lend something to that group. At least that’s what I’ve been told.”
The Real Housewives of New York City Season 12 will air on Bravo TV sometime early next year.