Bethenny Frankel Star of Real Housewives of New York City appeared with Andy Cohen Sunday night on a special Watch What Happens Live episode to gossip and hype her return to the show. Bethenny also answered questions about her divorce and gossiped about her cast mates.
When asked about her failed talk show, she said, “I can’t talk about the talk show as a negative experience. That’s not how I feel about it. That would be ungrateful, it was an amazing opportunity and there were so many great people that worked there. I don’t think back like, ‘that was a failure.’ I didn’t enjoy being a talk show host. I don’t think it’s what I should be doing and I think if you don’t love what you do, you’re not going to be good at. I just didn’t feel good… I felt like I couldn’t breathe… also because of what was going on with me personally. Everybody wants a talk show, and everybody thinks it’s so easy, particularly Housewives all want a talk show, and it’s not easy.”
When Andy talked about Bethenny’s failed marriage and whether reality TV had an effect she replied “As far as my personal life do I find it to be a failure? I’ve been through some pretty negative stuff and what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” Bethenny stated. “You’re catching me on the back nine right now. I wouldn’t have been able to do the show a year and a half ago, I would have not been enjoyable for anyone.”
When asked about if her marriage happening all on-camera had a negative effect to their relationship she replied “Is it a little crazy now that I think about it? Yeah. Would I ever want to be in that kind of relationship in that way, doing that… no. It’s not natural. I don’t believe in regret. I am where I am because of all my experiences.”
What was it that tore her marriage apart? “I write in my book about mutual respect and I think that people should be in relationships with people that really accept them and understand them,” Bethenny says. “Sheryl Sandberg wrote that book Lean In about the power struggle between men and women and how hard it is when the woman is the bread winner. I think fame and attention and money does not bring out the best in everybody. I think that money, in many ways, is the root of all evil.”
Would she get married again on TV? “Absolutely not,” Frankel stated. “If anyone wanted to marry me on television I would run like a thief in the night. That is not a good sign.”
Does she still believe in marriage? “I will never get legally married again,” Bethenny said. “It doesn’t mean that I would not commit to someone… I’m not jaded, I think there are amazing guys out there. I will never EVER be legally married again. Marriage is the Hotel California. You can check out anytime, but you can never leave.”
When they gossiped about her return to the housewives she stated “I don’t think that people really know me anymore,” Bethenny said when asked why she decided to return to the show now. “I think that people have read so many things about me and that’s really most of what they know and even doing a talk show, it’s very controlled. There was no cursing… and I felt like I was directing traffic. I didn’t realize how liberating this is to be able to just be on reality television in this way and just kind of be exactly who you are. I missed the connection between myself and the viewers and going through this journey with them. I’ve been through so many amazing things in my life with them.”
Did she feel like she knew what she was doing when she started filming the upcoming season of RHONY? “Because it’s who I am, it’s so scary. It occurred to me recently like I’m a professional reality star,” Frankel joked. “This is like my calling, as ridiculous as that may sound, it feels really comfortable. I think I thought had exposed too much of my life. I think that it’s just somehow a little bit different [this time]. It’s not everybody around me, it’s just my experience. It’s not like I’m involving other people in this and I’m here. I’m flying solo in this experience, interacting with these women with my journey, what I’ve gone through, what got me here. It’s just different.”
Was there a time that Bethenny thought she was too good for the show? “There was a point where I was a little embarrassed to be a Housewife,” she admitted. “I felt like it was something to not be proud of and when I was in it it felt like it was not what I started out as and I walked away. Now, coming back, I feel proud to do it again. I feel that it is a different show. I feel like me coming back to this show this season has changed up the dynamic.”
Is she more vulnerable now because of what she’s been through? “Yes, of course. I’ve been through some insane stuff in the last couple of years,” she states. “Having been beaten up in the press so much also, so I’m a little bit more resilient but I’m definitely a little bit more vulnerable… I have a different perspective. Being a mother changes you. How could it not? Everything else becomes so not important. It’s one thing that’s pure and you have to protect.”
What did Frankel think of Carole Radziwill? “I get along with her well,” Bethenny gossiped. “I had a preconceived notion about Carole and some of that is still true, but I was still surprised. I thought watching her first season of the show she acted like someone just dropped her into the show. She dated George Clooney and she was a Princess and whatever and people are all so crazy.”
Heather Thomson? “Heather on the show worked my nerves a little,” she states. “Heather really enjoys the art of therapy and analyzing people and getting into your grill.”
Are Bethenny’s cast mates selling stories to the press about her being a diva? “Yes they are” she boldly states. “You go to X person’s event, the very next day it’s in the press. I can’t believe that people place stories about each other. We all work together and people are ratting me out let and right. You know who it is because… you just know.”
When asked if she still talks to her former co-star Jill Zarin, she replied “I saw Jill so briefly this summer in the Hamptons and Bobby,” Bethenny states. “It was just small talk but no ill-will, I wish her the best. That’s the beauty of with age comes wisdom and it’s not so important. The other stuff I’ve gone through is so much more gigantic, I can’t really think about that kind of stuff.”
Teresa Giudice’s prison sentence? “I think it started years ago when I was watching the show with these women and I used to blog for somebody, And you write what you see and there’s a person that’s reading what you’re writing. I think it started a thing and later on she would talk about me and it became kind of like a real cowardly, not face-to-face battle. The only thing I can think of her going away is being a mother. She’s a mother and to be away from her kids? I can’t think of something worse. It’s always amazing to me the person that would go on reality television with skeletons in their closet.”
Photo Credit: Bravo
Bethenny Frankel Talks About Her Return To RHONY On WWHL
Bethenny Frankel
