The claws are out - again - between Bethenny Frankel and her former RHONY family, as production insiders claim the show is better off without her.

'This season the cast can breathe, everyone shows up and no one is afraid of what mood Bethenny will be in or if she'll even be filming,' production sources told DailyMailTV. 'This is someone who called her cast members every horrific name under the sun for years and yet she can't comprehend that they are happy to have her off the show.'

The Season 12 premiere of The Real Housewives of New York aired this week - without controversial Frankel - and she didn't hesitant to share her thoughts on the episode.

'The beginning of the show was the proverbial middle finger to me,' the 49-year-old reality star and entrepreneur said on Extra. 'The women have definitely had some unpleasant things to say about me… I wish them well.'

But five different production sources tell DailyMailTV her comments are 'a desperate and pathetic attempt to remain in the spotlight.

'Every second of every day she thinks about the error she made in walking away from the only show that was ever a success for her,' one insider claims.

Season 12 of The Real Housewives of New York premiered without controversial former cast member Bethenny Frankel and she called the show uninspiring during these times and bashed its ratings

'The beginning of the show was the proverbial middle finger to me,' the 49-year-old reality star and entrepreneur said on Extra

Five different production sources tell DailyMailTV that the show is better off without her and called her comments a 'pathetic attempt to remain in the spotlight'

Frankel seemed unfazed about missing out on the season, calling the reality show not the kind of 'inspiring' and 'uplifting' content people want to see during these unprecedented times.

But her comments are seen as pure jealousy to those who worked with her for years behind the scenes.

'Her extreme narcissism has meant that she can't handle the spotlight being taken away from her,' they said. 'The women know it kills her that this season is going to be a success without her. You've got to feel sorry for her really. She lost on The Apprentice: Martha Stewart, her talk show bombed, her Sirius radio show failed, and every time Bravo has attempted another show with her - they've tanked too.

'Her toxic comments really are a slap in the face for Andy Cohen. I feel really sorry for him. He made her a star through the Real Housewives and backed her for years and this is how she thanks him, by trashing the show. She's simply not a loyal friend or a gracious colleague,' they said.

The sources also claim that Frankel can't stay away and constantly called the current housewives during filming to try to get the lowdown or appear relevant.

'As we filmed this season she blew up the phone of one of the cast members multiple times a day, always wanting to know what was going on during filming,' a source said.

'She'd want a breakdown of every scene, who said what, who is fighting with who. It was pathetic. The women would laugh and joke about how they knew it was killing Bethenny that she wasn't on the show.'

They also claim Frankel thinks she's now 'above' reality television.

'Bethenny wants to talk about how she's above reality TV, but that's what made her a success. She is reality TV and it is her oxygen,' they said.

'She lost on The Apprentice: Martha Stewart, her talk show bombed, her Sirius radio show failed, and every time Bravo has attempted another show with her - they've tanked too,' production insiders said of Frankel

Sources claim that Frankel is wrong about the ratings and say she hasn't even seen the ratings data for Season 12. They said the RHONY premiere was a success

Taking a jab at their ratings, Frankel said: 'The ratings overall in television have never been higher and perhaps the ratings on Real Housewives aren't doing well because it's sort of not maybe the content that is inspiring people to do what they need to do right now.

Sources say it's 'outrageous' that Frankel took credit for Leah McSweeney being cast this season

'Or maybe they want to watch the news or something uplifting or some way to pay it forward,' she went on.

But our sources say Frankel is wrong about the ratings and the season premiere was a success.

'The show did really well. She hadn't even seen the ratings. Once all the numbers come in, episode one is on track to smash the first episode of the last season Bethenny starred in,' they said.

According to ratings data, Season 12's premiere ratings were similar to Season 11's average viewership, and so far streaming viewing for the latest premiere was up 13 percent versus Season 11.

But what sources say is the most 'outrageous' of all of Frankel's allegations, is that she is the reason new cast member Leah McSweeney is on the show this season.

'The most outrageous leak was Bethenny taking credit for Leah McSweeney being cast. This mysteriously appeared in People just before the season premiered, yet Leah has never even met Bethenny.

'The two women share a beauty therapist and she recommended her name – a name that Bethenny sent to the network along with a list of other names. Something that all the women do every season.'

'Bethenny even followed Leah on Instagram and when she heard that Leah was working out well and that the other women were enjoying filming with her, Bethenny suddenly unfollowed her.'

Frankel is still close friends with Bravo's own Andy Cohen, host of Watch What Happens Live, but our sources say, 'If I was Andy Cohen, I'd lose Bethenny's number as she's proven that she isn't loyal'

'Real Housewives of New York was the only show she's been on that was a success, and what kills her is it will remain a success without her,' sources say

With a shortage of N95 masks and PPE [Personal protective equipment] nationwide, Frankel and her BStrong foundation have stepped in to donate a whopping 250k masks to NYC hospitals

Frankel is still close friends with Bravo's own Andy Cohen, host of Watch What Happens Live.

She said she spoke with Cohen about his coronavirus diagnosis and told Extra, 'He's good, he's okay. He's reunited with his son and he's always got a good attitude and he's working and he's happy.'

And our sources questioned their friendship, saying: 'If I was Andy Cohen, I'd lose Bethenny's number as she's proven that she isn't loyal.'

In the meantime, Frankel has been dedicating her time and money to those in need as the coronavirus crisis continues to rock her home state of New York.

With a shortage of N95 masks and PPE [personal protective equipment] nationwide, Frankel and her BStrong foundation have stepped in to donate a whopping 250,000 masks to NYC hospitals.

But our sources say she's only doing good to feed her personal ego.

'In all honestly, the best thing about her narcissism is that people are getting helped because Bethenny needs the limelight,' they said. 'I mean anytime you turn on the television she is on a show promoting herself.

'In fact, Jill Fritzo [her publicist] should call the White House and have Bethenny stand between Dr. Birx and Dr. Fauci so she can talk about herself to the entire country.'