"Alexis Bellino Bids Farewell: Exiting The Real Housewives of Orange County on Her Own Terms"

Alexis Bellino will not be a part of The Real Housewives of Orange County's upcoming nineteenth season.

The reality star announced her exit from the franchise while guest-hosting the Going Rogue podcast, in an episode that dropped early on Friday, Dec. 20.

"I was not asked back next season," she told guests Roxy Earle (of The Real Housewives of Toronto) and Carlos King (of the Reality with the King podcast).

Bellino — who first made her debut on RHOC in season 4 and left after season 8 — had returned to the hit Bravo show for season 17 after a 10-year absence, this time in a Friend-of role. And while a few, including executive producer Andy Cohen, celebrated her comeback, many of the fans turned on the mother of three as she butted heads with longtime Housewife Shannon Storms Beador.

The two had plenty of reasons to be at odds. For one, Alexis' ex-husband Jim Bellino sued Storms Beador for defamation in 2018 — a legal battle Storms Beador eventually won in October 2020, but that came at the cost of lost hundreds of thousands of dollars she spent defending herself.

Oh... and then there's the fact that Alexis is currently engaged to Beador's ex-boyfriend, John Janssen.

Despite some attempts by Alexis to mend fences, she and Storms Beador never got there — likely because Alexis continued stick up for Janssen in his own legal battle with Storms Beador. And in a historic scene filmed after the reunion that ended the season, it appeared clear they would never get to a place of peace as Heather Dubrow and Tamra Judge confirmed Storms Beador's suspicions that Janssen had in fact heard the crash that led to Beador's September arrest for an alleged DUI and hit-and-run, and hadn't gone to the scene to check on her.

So it should come as no surprise to fans that Alexis won't be returning. In fact, she herself said she was expecting it.

"I can’t say it came as a shock, it did not come as a shock," Alexis said on Going Rogue. "It was a hard conversation. ... I guess I wasn’t really prepared [because] I didn’t think contracts were coming out — like, I thought we had more time. ... [So] it was a shock when the call came, but I was never shocked about that information."

“It was a little bit of a relief," she added. "I mean nobody wants the rejection, and no one wants to [hear] you’re not asked back. But it already happened to me. It happened to me in season 8. I’ve been there, done that!"

In addition to Alexis, Storms Beador, Dubrow and Judge, season 18 of RHOC also starred Emily Simpson, Gina Kirschenheiter, Jennifer Pedranti and newcomer Katie Ginella

Bravo famously does not comment on casting, but a source tells PEOPLE filming for season 19 of RHOC is expected to begin in January, with all others returning.

It's perhaps that fact that made it even more apparent to Alexis that she wouldn't be asked back. On Going Rogue, she noted that while she's "very good friends" with Pedranti and Ginella, she's still working things out with Dubrow and Judge after feeling hurt by what they said to Storms Beador in that last scene.

"I didn’t know after that scene, how do I fit in?" Alexis explained. "I still thought there might be a way they can make it work for everybody to come back. But you know, the cards played the way they did."

"How do they bring someone back who is not a fan favorite vs. the fan favorite?" she noted, of Storms Beador's popularity. "And I get that."

Despite the outcome, there is something Alexis can be proud of when it comes to her time back on RHOC. She helped the series bring in its biggest audience in five years, TheWrap reported earlier this month.

According to the outlet, which cited Nielsen live-plus-35-day multiplatform viewing figures, season 18 averaged 3.1 million total viewers and 1.6 million viewers within the 18-49 demo.

Both the show's highest total and demo viewership saw a 5% uptick when compared to last season. The success boosted the show to rank within 2024’s Top 15 entertainment series in the 18-49 demo.

All seasons of The Real Housewives of Orange County can be streamed on Peacock.