Jill Zarin, Kelly Bensimon and Alex McCord not returning to "Real Housewives of New York City"

(CBS) The rumors were true: Jill Zarin, Alex McCord, Kelly Bensimon and Cindy Barshop are all leaving "The Real Housewives of New York City."

Bravo confirmed the casting changes in a statement on Saturday.

"Ramona Singer, Sonja Morgan and LuAnn DeLesseps will be returning for season 5 of 'The Real Housewives of New York City,'" a network spokesperson told Entertainment Weekly. "We've had a fabulous run with all the ladies and appreciate them sharing their lives with our viewers. It is a friendly departure among the other ladies and we continue to have on-going discussions with them."

The decision means that Singer and de Lesseps are now the only remaining original cast members on the show. Bensimon was added to the cast during the second season, Morgan joined during the third season and Barshop first appeared during the fourth.

Zarin, via her rep, told People magazine: "Jill is humbled by the extraordinary amount of media interest in her response and looks forward to personally opening up about all of this very soon and announcing some exciting new projects."

Speculation about casting changes began last week. At the time, Bravo told Celebrity Circuit that no decisions had been made.