D.C. Housewives' Lynda: I Never Called Michaele Anorexic

Erkiletian insists she wasn't as hard on Salahi about her weight as everyone thinks she was

While Real Housewives of D.C.'s Lynda Erkiletian admits she's had worries about costar Michaele Salahi's health, she wants to make one thing clear.

She never called Salahi anorexic...

"At the beginning of filming, when I would see her I felt that she had lost a lot of weight and I was genuinely concerned," Erkiletian told us earlier today. "As a [modeling] agent, I don't ever use the A-word, which she's been parading around and making up and the media has picked up on. I know better."

Erkiletian last saw Salahi at an OK! magazine photo shoot about three weeks ago. "She's put on weight," she said. "Not too much weight. She looks beautiful and really healthy."

Anorexic isn't the only word Erkiletian doesn't like. She may have a boyfriend who is 17 years her junior, but don't you dare call her a cougar. "I just can't stand that word!" she said. "It's so gross. I never think of myself as anything other than responding to my heart. It's not something we think about. We are doing beautifully."