Is Reality TV the Best Revenge for Celeb Exes?

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Next month, when The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (Bravo, October 14, 10 p.m. ET) hits the small screen, a celebrity "ex" will anchor the show's group of well-to-do ladies. In most of the press coverage about the new cast, Camille (Donatacci) Grammer, a.k.a. Kelsey Grammer's former wife, is the first name mentioned.

It's not hard to see why. Grammer abruptly filed for divorce from Camille in July; shortly thereafter, news surfaced that he and his new girlfriend--29-year-old flight attendant, Kayte Walsh—were expecting a baby. With Camille's reality gig happening in the midst of it all, you've got to wonder: Will she speak her mind about her crumbling union?

"It was very hard walking down the red carpet [at the Tony Awards] knowing that my marriage was almost over," Camille says in the Housewives promo. But according to Perez Hilton, Kelsey encouraged her to take the job. “The truth is I didn’t want to do the show. Kelsey wanted me to do the show," Camille said. "When we were together, he thought it would be good for basically the country and women out there to know who his wife really is." No doubt he's regretting that decision now, as they spar over child custody and the royalties from his sitcom days.

But Camille is hardly the first celebrity "ex" to land on TV just after (or while) her marriage was blowing up. In 2009, Shaquille O’Neal's former wife, Shaunie, filed for divorce and jumped right into her job as executive producer and co-star of VH1's Basketball Wives. In the first episode, which aired last April, she and another wife discussed Shaq's alleged affair with another woman.

Tiger Woods couldn't have been pleased to hear that his former mistress, Rachel Uchitel, is among the cast mates of VH1's Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, Season 4—which is set to air in late 2010. (That's not to mention the fact that rumors are now swirling about a romance between her and Rehab cast mate, Jeremy London.) Did Uchitel undergo all of that show's talk therapy without mentioning Tiger? Seems unlikely.

In February, Kevin Federline's ex, Shar Jackson, became a contestant on VH1's Celebrity Fit Club, alongside Federline himself. But K-Fed (possibly coaxed by TV producers) took the opportunity to publicly apologize to Jackson for trading her (and their two children) in for a relationship with Britney Spears.

Will the Camille-Kelsey saga end as well? Don't hold your breath.

Does Camille Grammer's participation make you more likely to want to watch The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills? Chime in below!

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