Carole Radziwill Leaving ‘Real Housewives of New York’

Carole Radziwill is leaving The Real Housewives of New York City behind.

The 54-year-old journalist and author will not be returning to the Bravo series for another season, she told PEOPLE Wednesday.

“After six seasons on Bravo’s RHONY, I have decided to return to what I do best — journalism and producing,” Radziwill said in a statement.

“I am sure this does not come as a surprise to any of the viewers, all of whom have been supportive, encouraging, and kind,” she added. “My original curiosity about reality television has waned over the years and I am focusing on TV and writing projects that better suit my more steady temperament.”

She continued: “I have worked with amazing producers, made great friends, and I’m thrilled to leave frenemies behind. I will remember this entire experience with delight, humor, and a veracious accuracy. Next.”

The news won’t surprise fans of the series, who have watched Radziwill go through a vicious fallout with best friend Bethenny Frankel this season.

Although the root of the animosity isn’t quite clear, Frankel clearly crossed a line early in the season when she accused Radziwill’s on-again, off-again boyfriend Adam Kenworthy of trying to pull a fast one on her charity over asking to be paid for his work as a photographer.

“There’s been other things I’ve personally felt and I said, ‘I think he’s a bit of an operator,’” Frankel said in a May episode. “And she goes, ‘Everyone’s an operator. Everyone who is successful in business is an operator. It’s good that he’s an operator. I’m glad that he’s a hustler.’”

She continued: “I aborted. I was like, ‘I shouldn’t have said anything,’ I was trying to jam it back in. It’s honest but you don’t have to say everything you feel. It’s like if your mom likes your boyfriend, she doesn’t need to tell you everything she thinks.”

Frankel also seemed to take offense to Radziwill’s growing friendship with co-star Tinsley Mortimer.

“We’re totally on different pages,” Frankel said, adding that Radziwill didn’t take interest in her B Strong relief efforts. “It occurred to me that we don’t have that much in common. She does have more in common with Tinsley in the fact that Carole isn’t married, doesn’t have kids, and doesn’t have a career. … She knows [we’re] a little off.”

However, in a Watch What Happens Live appearance the month prior, Radziwill shut that speculation down.

“None of that was true, and that wasn’t the friendship I was having with her at the time, so I was just as surprised as the audience was to hear all of that,” she said. “In fact, I was being a really good friend. I remember at the same time I was trying to figure out dates that we could go to Golden Door together, I had sent her flowers when [her dog] Cookie died, wrote a lot of checks for her charity. I was just being a really good friend.”

The Real Housewives of New York City airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.

Photo credit: Facebook/Carole Radziwill