Ex-'Housewife' Carlton Gebbia - The Wicked Witch Is Dead ... So I'll Return to 'Housewives'

Ex-"Real Housewives" star Carlton Gebbia says she may have been fired, but she won in the end because Bravo secretly came back to her on hands and knees, asking her to return.

Carlton got her walking papers from "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" ... because the audience didn't connect to her Wiccan ways ... something the show wanted her to do.

We're told Bravo execs had a meeting with Carlton, asking her to make a few appearances. She made it clear ... she had NO interest in returning.

But fast forward to this week, when Andy Cohen went on his show and publicly apologized to Carlton, saying the show screwed up by portraying her as a wicked witch when she's actually a devoted mom, a fun wife and a savvy businesswoman.

That did the trick. Carlton tells us she's now open to returning to the show.

To be continued.