Many reality stars' personalities can be described as no-nonsense and the same thing is true of many cast members in the Real Housewives franchise on Bravo. Bethenny Frankel has always been one of the most honest and bold women to appear on the Real Housewives of New York City, and now that she's left the series, a void is definitely felt.
Fans have seen Bethenny go through a difficult and long divorce from Jason Hoppy and now she's engaged to Paul Bernon.
It was sad to learn that Bethenny was going to leave RHONY after season 11. Why did she make this decision? Let's take a look.
A Question Of Money
Bethenny Frankel is one of the most successful reality stars and back in the day, she worked on the set of Saved By The Bell.
Besides her SkinnyGirl empire, fans know her best as a star on The Real Housewives of New York. Why did she decide to say goodbye to the show?
Bethenny Frankel shared that she kept filming RHONY because of the salary.
In an interview with Variety, Bethenny shared, "I wasn’t leaving because of money, I was staying because of money. It no longer became this platform to promote my business."
Bethenny continued, "It was really the paycheck, which was, you know, astronomical at that point." She said that it felt like the right time to leave: "It’s taken me longer to order a pasta dish than just to decide this. I just was looking for a reason. And I just was ready to do it. I didn’t want to be there anymore. I didn’t want to be there anymore. I mean, honestly — I just didn’t."
Bethenny also got very honest in the same interview about how when she starred on RHONY, she was also working and raising her daughter. She explained, "I have a real career. So it’s really hard when we’re not covering that what I’m really doing is my career, because I then have to do the show and my real career. So if we’re just showing me having lunches and on vacations, then I’ve got three jobs — because I’ve got to be a mother too."
Bethenny told People that when she was cast on RHONY, she was "broke" and that she felt that when she was on the show and having those fights and discussions, she didn't find herself interested.
What Bethenny's Up To
Bethenny Frankel is now engaged to Paul Bernon and has a new reality TV show, The Big Show With Bethenny, which will stream on HBO Max.
According to Variety, the show will have 8 episodes and will feature people trying to get hired for Skinnygirl's executive team. Fans of Bethenny's know that she is always intelligent and interesting and that this show is sure to be just as awesome as her time on RHONY.
In an interview with Marie Claire, Bethenny said the show is "personal" and she explained it's "all based on my real business. So the stakes are high. It's personal."
Bethenny also said that when she began starring on RHONY, she thought, "What is the point of being on television like this if you’re not marketing something or monetizing it in some way?” She wasn't paid very much at the beginning, but she made sure to put in "the Bethenny clause" which has gotten a lot of attention since: this meant that when she had successful business opportunities, the network didn't receive a percentage of that money.
The Cast Of 'RHONY'
When each city in the popular Bravo franchise comes back, fans are used to seeing one or two new cast members and having to say goodbye to others.
Dorinda Medley and Tinsley Mortimer are no longer on RHONY and Eboni K. Williams is the newest housewife to join season 13.
According to Us Weekly, Dorinda Medley was fired by Bravo, and Bethenny said that the two have deepened their friendship and she was a source of support for Dorinda.
Bethenny explained that when fans no longer see a cast member on the Bravo franchise, it's usually because they have been let go: "99 percent of the people that leave the Housewives have been fired. I would be in the 1 percent. 99 percent have been fired and kind of lie about it. And it was just good that she just walked through it and owned it.”
According to Today.com, Luann de Lesseps said that the cast is "relieved" that Bethenny is gone and that Bethenny was "coming in and kind of stealing the show."
It's too bad that Bethenny Frankel decided to leave RHONY, but it's great news that fans can see her on her new show The Big Shot With Bethenny.
