Bethenny Frankel was first introduced to us back in 2008 when she joined the original cast of Bravo's Real Housewives of New York. Bethenny was unknown at the time and had managed to make a name for herself as a natural foods chef before making her reality television debut.
During the early RHONY years, Bethenny married Jason Hoppy, which landed her and Hoppy their very own Bravo spin-off, Bethenny Ever After. Despite their fairytale wedding, things went awry quite fast between the two, and they announced they were splitting up after two years of marriage.
Luckily for Bethenny, the star has since moved on and is now dating Paul Bernon, however, she has never been able to re-marry as she and Jason have not finalized their divorce up until now. So, what took so long to get the deal done? Let's find out!
Bethenny's 8-Year Long Divorce
Bethenny Frankel is easily one of the biggest names to have come out of Bravo's Real Housewives. The star joined the series as an original cast member before officially calling it quits after season three.
It was at this point that Bethenny met her now ex-husband, Jason Hoppy, who proposed to Frankel during the third season of Real Housewives of New York. This sparked the network to give Frankel and Hoppy their own spin-off, Bethenny Ever After, which ran for three seasons from 2010 to 2012.
After tying the knot in 2010, Bethenny gave birth to her and Jason's daughter, Bryn, months later. Well, despite their romance and picture-perfect reality show, things went awry in their relationship, which ultimately led the two to announce their separation in 2012 after less than three years of marriage.
Bethenny and Jason's legal battles began immediately, and have only been finalized as of January 20, 2021, making their divorce one that lasted nearly a decade! So, what exactly led their divorce to be drawn out for so long? Well, a lot of things.
For starters, their custody battle is one that continues to be an issue to this very day. After both Bethenny and Jason fought for primary custody of Bryn, Hoppy reportedly turned into a monster, claiming false allegations regarding Bethenny and her mental health as a ploy to win his case.
After finally agreeing to a custody set up in 2014, things took a turn for the worse when Jason appeared at Bryn's school unannounced, leading to his 2017 arrest. Hoppy was then hit with a restraining order for months, leading a judge to sign off on Jason being unable to contact Bethany by text, email, or through a third party.
In 2019, Jason took Bethenny to court in order to re-open the custody case surrounding their now 10-year-old daughter, Bryn after Bethenny's boyfriend, Dennis Shields passed of an overdose, claiming the trauma and stress rendered Frankel unsuitable to look after their daughter.
Bethenny ended up walking away with another win when it came to Jason's failed attempt, however, the former RHONY star is now experiencing another major win after a judge finally signed off on the papers this past January, making her officially a divorced woman!
