AceShowbiz -

Simon van Kempen and Alex McCord may be seen in the upcoming season of "The Real Housewives of New York City" but that may be as far as they go. The married couple reportedly is not returning for a fourth season because the executives feel they do not appeal as much as the other housewives. In other words, they are not asked back.

"There are a ton of reasons they aren't being asked back," N.Y. Daily News quoted an insider as saying. "Viewers don't have a positive reaction to them, so they're easily replaceable at this point. Also, they don't really fit in with the other wives. All of the other women's story lines have interwoven, yet Alex and Simon have kept theirs separate. It isn't nearly as interesting as the other Housewives'."

Another reason allegedly is a "hissy fit" thrown by Simon to Bravo when knowing that he was not paid as much as the other families. "Simon wants to be an equal on the show, but that doesn't really make any sense to Bravo," the insider said. "After all, he's not a 'Real Housewife,' now is he?"

Bravo indeed had searched for two new housewives for the NYC edition. The cable found Sonja Morgan, a former model, and Jennifer Gilbert, an event organizer to join the original cast in the fourth season. However, Bravo has also released a statement regarding the dismissal of Simon and Alex, insisting "no details have been released about next season". Simon himself said, "We have not had any discussions regarding a fourth season."

Meanwhile, the third season begins March 4 with Alex, LuAnn de Lesseps, Bethenny Frankel, Kelly Bensimon, Ramona Singer and Jill Zarin on board. "In the upcoming season, Alex picks a lot of fights, and it looks like it's an attempt to keep her story line relevant," the insider added. "But it ended up seeming inauthentic."