Jill Zarin could return to The Real Housewives of New York City for the show's upcoming 11th season. During an appearance at the Tribeca TV Festival earlier this week, Andy Cohen addressed the possibility of a Zarin return while hosting a Q&A panel with a few of the series' stars, including Tinsley Mortimer, Dorinda Medley, and Sonja Morgan.
"Every time a ['Real Housewives' star] leaves the show, I always say the [franchise] is like the mob, you can never get out of the family," Cohen told audience members. "You will always be identified as a Real Housewife after [leaving]," he added.
Although Zarin has feuded on and off with Bethenny Frankel, Mortimer, Medley, and Morgan were on board with the idea of a Zarin return. In fact, they would love to see the original cast member come back to the show for Season 11.
Why was Jill Zarin fired from RHONY in 2011?
As fans of the long-running series will recall, Jill Zarin was fired after the fourth season of "The Real Housewives of New York City" in 2011, along with Cindy Barshop, Alex McCord, and Kelly Bensimon. As she's said in the past, she wrote a letter claiming she wanted to leave the series on a high note but immediately regretted doing so. Unfortunately, it was too late and a short time later, Bravo TV called her to inform her that her contract would not be renewed for a fifth season.
According to Zarin, she doesn't know for sure why Bravo TV chose to terminate her contract but she believes her firing may have been the result of her feud with Bethenny Frankel. "I was heartbroken and I felt like [the network was] my parents and that when it was 'Bethenny [vs] Jill,' you picked favorites," she explained during an appearance on "Watch What Happens Live."
Since her firing, Zarin has made a couple of guest appearances on the Bravo TV show and allowed the network to film scenes during her husband Bobby Zarin's funeral in January.
How does Jill Zarin feel about returning?
In July, Zarin opened up to E! News, confirming she would be on board with a return to the show but insisting she only wants to be featured as a friend, not a full-time cast member. "I've said that before. I would. I don't know if my friend would like to do it, but, yeah, 'cause I think I have the time now," she explained.
I couldn't do it for many years because of Bobby, and I was taking care of him. But now I have the time. And I think Luann needs me."
The Real Housewives of New York City Season 11 is currently in production and expected to premiere sometime later this year on Bravo TV.