Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)

“Real Housewives” LuAnn de Lesseps, ­Ramona Singer and Sonja Morgan’s hardball tactics while negotiating with Bravo have backfired, with the ladies being reduced to a “pay for play” system, sources tell Page Six.

In October, we reported the women were refusing to sign contracts unless they were paid almost as much as leader of the pack Bethenny Frankel, who’s reportedly making a cool $1 million per season.

“They tried to power play Bravo,” said a source. “They tried to hold out for more money, and the network said, ‘Guess what? We’re not even going to give you a contract.’ ”

We hear that now, de Lesseps, Singer and Morgan will be on only “if they are necessary and it works in the context of their scene,” a source close to the Bravo show explained.

De Lesseps and Singer have been on “Housewives” since its first season in 2008, and Morgan joined in 2010 during the third season.

We’re told both de Lesseps and Singer, who are now part-time, have done the pay-by-scene structure before and it actually worked out better for them. A source said the rate per scene is $20,000.

“They actually can make more money on [this] rate,” said our insider. Because “they don’t have to work six days a week, and they don’t have to go to events or go on vacations” that are filmed with the rest of the cast. Most of the stars have various side projects.

Frankel, Carole Radziwill and Dorinda Medley have all signed new contracts.

When de Lesseps was first demoted from a full-time cast member last season, she said in an interview, “It’s a win-win for me . . . I’m still very much a part of the show, but it’s not a full-time thing. It’s very engulfing when you’re on it. It takes up all of your mental and physical energy.”

De Lesseps just moved into a new apartment, and we hear part of this year’s plot would involve her decorating it.

A rep for de Lesseps said she “doesn’t discuss financial issues.” Reps for the other women and Bravo did not get back to us.