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Alexia Nepola claims she and her castmates don’t want Bethenny Frankel to join The Real Housewives of Miami.
After Lisa Hochstein, 42, suggested she was open to the idea following the news of the 54-year-old Real Housewives of New York City alum’s relocation to Miami earlier this year, Alexia, 58, shot down the potential casting and also explained why her friend, Teresa Giudice, 53, shouldn’t be added to the show.
“I don’t think we would want [Bethenny] there. She’s not Miami,” Alexia told Us Weekly on June 17. “Miami’s become a very transient city, and I love that and I welcome that. But when you’re going to be in this kind of show, I feel like you have to be a real Miamian. You have to have your roots here.”
And while Alexia has a strong bond with her Real Housewives of New Jersey bestie Teresa, she also explained why RHOM wouldn’t be the right fit for her.
“I feel like there’s a lot of people that want to go to Miami,” Alexia continued. “They could go to Miami, but not to our show. We already have nine girls. We don’t need any more.”
Just last year, amid production on season seven, and after the exit of Dr. Nicole Martin, 39, production added Stephanie Shojaee, 40, to the series. And as the trailer teased, she seemed to immediately butt heads with Alexia.
“She’s definitely Miami and she’s bringing that Miami drama and I love it,” Alexia admitted. “I think she’s been a great addition to the show. She comes full of energy. She’s very opinionated. She has a very strong entrance. Some like it, some don’t. But I think she’s great.”
According to Alexia, her issues with Stephanie stemmed from the fact that they are “both alphas.”
“She needs to calm down,” Alexia declared. “I’ve been here for a long time. I’ve taken a lot of punches, so you’re just not going to come in and take my crown. We all have crowns, but we have to respect each other. You can keep yours, but don’t try to take mine off. We figure it out.”
“You’ll have to watch and see because she does bring a lot to the group, and it’s really been great filming with her,” Alexia added.
As for Lisa, she spoke of Bethenny’s potential addition to RHOM on Tamra Judge, 57, and Teddi Mellencamp‘s podcast weeks ago.
“I personally like Bethenny,” she shared on the June 3 episode of Two Ts in a Pod. “She’s always really nice to me.”
The Real Housewives of Miami season seven airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on Bravo.