If you're on a show based on being rich and fabulous, it's a tough dose of actual reality when you lose your job. Real Housewives of New York's Alex McCord, who was often shown on expensive vacations and indulgent shopping sprees, went through the less-glamrous experience last month and talked to RadarOnline.com about moving forward.

"I became more of a housewife than I ever was before," McCord, who worked in visual merchandising for Victoria's Secret, joked. While it would have been easy to rub her current status in her face (admit it, you were at least a little jealous when she dropped a few thousand in one stop), fans have been pouring on the support, even feeling a sense of camraderie. "It’s been lovely to get e-mails and Facebook posts from people who are fans of the show who say, 'wow, sorry to hear about it, I was laid off myself.' It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

As she weighs her options moving forward, McCord has slipped into her new way of living pretty easily. “The first and most obvious cutback would be shopping. I don’t feel the need to go out and engage in retail therapy," she says. Despite looking extravagant on the show, she says she and her husband are actually "very careful with our finances. We know at a glance where every penny is.”

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