Housewife Hold 'Em: Would you risk true love for fame?

Real Housewives of DC star Cat gambled her relationship and lost. (Bravo Network)It's an age old story. Girl meets boy. Girl meets reality show. Girl loses boy. Cat, the biting British villainess of "Real Housewives of DC", has seen her marriage of less than two years implode in the months since filming the new Bravo series. On the one hand, the exposure might translate to sales of her upcoming memoir. On the other hand, she lost the man she loved. Was it worth it? Cat may be on the fence.

In yesterday's New York Times profile of her photojournalist ex, Charles, she hints at second thoughts. "Having all that gone has been incredibly challenging, and I've had to do a lot of soul searching about how we've got to this point....Every time I see Charles," she added of watching the show, "especially last week, when he comes and surprises me on a photo shoot, and the look of love for him I have, and the admiration I had and in some way still have - it's painful."

Sure she seems sad, but notice the plug for the photo shoot for her new book embedded in her quote. A few weeks ago, I didn't know who Catherine Ommanney was. Now I know she has a book coming out called Inbox Full, I know her handsome White House photographer husband left her after they filmed the series, I know he shot her book cover, and as a result, what the cover looks like because I saw the photo shoot on TV. And while I may not buy it, I'll definitely stop and ogle it on display in a bookstore.

Getting people invested in your brand by getting people invested in your life: it's a risky model but it worked for New York housewife Bethenny Frankel. On last season's show and her recent spin-off "Bethenny Getting Married", she repeats this mantra frequently: "I didn't think I could have it all." With a spin-off show, two New York Times bestsellers, a loving husband and a new baby, she hit the jackpot.

As women of this century, we know how hard it is to balance a thriving career with a thriving romance but we're not talking about a corner office and health benefits. If you're positioning yourself on a Bravo reality show, you're poised for being the next Oprah or at least the next Rachael Ray. This is big money, big fame and as a result, big time risk.

New Jersey's Dina Manzo plugged her interior decorating background in the first season, but backed out of the show after she felt her child custody was in jeopardy. Other cast-members who have exposed their young children to the cameras may be fostering a child-star or a damaged young adult ill-prepared for public ridicule. For those who own a business, the exposure on the show can be a boost. But if can also invite unwanted probes and negative press. (How many lawsuits have been launched? How many Real Housewives we thought were wealthy have had their homes go into foreclosure? And who knew fashion writer Kelly Bensimon was such a mental case before the show?) When it comes to love, the losses are the greatest. From the OC to Atlanta and New York to DC, every series has seen it's share of brutal divorces mid-season.

Only Frankel, who grew up on the horse racing track, has won the gamble. She anted up her love life and lost in the first season. But she but stayed in the game to win the man and the money by season three. She knows when to fold 'em too. She won't be back for another season of the housewives.

For those still in the game, there's not guarantee of another winner. "I tell [the other castmembers] Bethenny is the exception, not the rule," show creator Andy Cohen told the Hollywood Reporter of Frankel's spin-off deal. That's true of her overall success too. There have been far more break-ups than bestsellers because of the series. The odds of walking away with both is one in well, how many series have their been? And how many cast-members on each? Well, one out of everyone else.

That seems about the same odds as finding a true love. So you meet the person who turns you on, who you trust, who challenges you, who embraces your family, who loves you. And you get offered a chance to possibly make a fortune and have the kind of influence you've always craved. And your true love says, as Charles Ommmanney did, go ahead and do what makes you happy. Do you?