Carole Radziwill makes shock return to Real Housewives of New York City for Season 16... eight years after her explosive exit

A legendary reality icon is returning to the Real Housewives of New York City. 

Carole Radziwill, 62, will officially be back as a 'friend' for the upcoming Season 16, which is set to start filming this week. 

Radziwill was a mainstay on the show from seasons five to ten alongside co-stars Bethenny Frankel, Ramona Singer, Sonja Morgan and Luann de Lesseps.

This time, she will join Erin Lichy, Sai De Silva, and Jessel Taank, who are the only three cast members remaining from the reboot era. 

Also joining the new season are Hailey Glassman — best known as the ex-girlfriend of Jon Gosselin — and celebrity makeup artist Daisy Toye, a longtime glam professional for Martha Stewart, as per TMZ.

Rounding out the new lineup is celebrity fitness trainer Erika Hammond. 

Prior to her work on reality TV, Radziwill worked as a producer for ABC for two decades, a large portion of which was spent stationed in Iraq covering the Gulf War.

She is the widow of Prince Anthony Radziwill, whom she was married to from 1994 up until his death from cancer in 1999.

Radziwill joined the cast of The Real Housewives for its fifth season in 2012, and given her respected news background, her debut came as a surprise to some.

But like any other star of the show, Radziwill quickly found herself at the center of the drama, with fans watching the crumbling of her friendship with close pal Frankel.

Throughout her run, viewers saw her new relationship unfold with chef Adam Kenworthy, who was more than 20 years her junior, but they split in 2017 after three years together.

Radziwill sensationally quit The Real Housewives in 2018 following five seasons, after she was involved in a public falling-out with producer Andy Cohen.

In a statement at the time, Radziwill insisted she wanted to return to her passion for journalism, writing: 'I have decided to return to what I do best - journalism and producing.

'I am sure this does not come as a surprise to any of the viewers, all of whom have been supportive, encouraging, and kind.'

'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... I will remember this entire experience with delight, humor, and a veracious accuracy.'

Radziwill then revealed that she had persistent on-set issues that eventually forced her off the show, and she accused bosses of giving some stars preferential treatment.

During the reunion for The Real Housewives' tenth season, viewers saw Radziwill clash with Cohen, after she claimed he was 'full of s**t' for saying she and Frankel 'bashed each other' all season.

She later defended her stance on X after Cohen claimed her behavior was 'Trumpian', and just days later, she announced she would not return to the show. 

Starting her journalism career in the 1980s, Radziwill began working as an intern on the magazine show 20/20, before moving onto work for Peter Jennings's documentary unit, producing shows on abortion and gun control.

After spending time covering the Gulf conflict, she also spent six weeks in Afghanistan in 2003, and won many plaudits for her reporting, including three Emmys for her work on a film about land mines in Cambodia.

Radziwill also found love in the ABC newsroom, as she tied the knot with producer Anthony, the son of Prince Stanislas Radziwill and the nephew of Jacqueline Kennedy, in 1994.

Sadly, Anthony died four years later after a battle with sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, and Carole stepped down from ABC News in 2003 to focus on writing her memoir What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship and Love.

In 2017, Carole shared insight into her spouse's battle with the disease during an appearance on the Shared Secrets podcast, admitting that he was first diagnosed before they were married.

She said: '[Cancer] was seen as a death sentence. So it's not something that you wanted to talk about.

'No one would talk about it openly, even though there was many, many, many treatments and there were a lot of cures also for different cancers. But still it was that lingering thing, like, ''Oh, you have cancer.'' And it was always said with a whisper. Still, even today it is, which is just interesting. That became our secret.'

The time of Anthony's death proved even more difficult for Carole, as just three weeks before, her close friend Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, and her husband, John Kennedy, Jr., died in a plane crash.