Vanessa Minnillo was thisclose to landing a role on The CW’s upcoming revival of the ’90s soap Melrose Place. That’s why the former MTV VJ was devastated to learn that she’d lost the part that would have seen her working side by side with Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, the former sister-in-law of her boyfriend Nick Lachey.

“She was down to the wire to be a series regular,” a friend tells Star. “When she found out she didn’t get the role she was devastated.”

We’d take this as a sign that a career in acting is not Vanessa’s future. If her big debut in last summer’s box office stinker Disaster Movie wasn’t proof enough, anytime Ashlee Simpson has an easier time landing acting gigs than you, it’s time to hang up your headshot and see if UPS is hiring.

Perhaps, Vanessa is getting the picture. Friends say the 28-year-old former Miss Teen USA has grown increasingly frustrated with the direction–or lack thereof–of her career in recent months.

“She wants to be the center of attention, not on the sidelines asking questions.”