Bethenny Frankel Talks ‘RHONY’ Return After Fans Ask for Comeback
Bethenny Frankel rose to fame thanks to The Real Housewives of New York City. The former Housewives star left the show for the second time just ahead of season 12, which is currently airing on Bravo. Fans have been clamoring for her comeback ever since. Frankel was recently asked about the possibility of her return to the franchise and she explained.
Bethenny Frankel says producers gave her the ‘middle finger’
Frankel’s exit shook the whole RHONY cast and during the season 12 premiere, there was a moment dedicated to her announcement. Ramona Singer, Luann de Lesseps, Sonja Morgan, and the rest of her former co-stars reacted to news she was leaving the show. The Skinny Girl founder saw the episode and was not happy with what they did.
“The beginning of the show was the proverbial middle finger to me,” she said earlier this year in an interview with Extra. “The women have definitely had some unpleasant things to say about me… I wish them well.”
Frankel then took a dig at the show that afforded her the space to promote her brand when she was starting out.
“The ratings overall in television have never been higher and perhaps the ratings on Real Housewives aren’t doing well because it’s sort of not maybe the content that is inspiring people to do what they need to do right now,” Frankel added. “Or maybe they want to watch the news or something uplifting or some way to pay it forward.”
Fans want her back
Even though Frankel implied that The Real Housewives franchise was going down the deep end, fans have still been asking for the outspoken reality TV personality to return. She was recently seen with Andy Cohen and sparked rumors they were maybe negotiating a comeback for season 13. In a recent interview, Frankel revealed if she would be down to appear on RHONY and hold an apple again.
“There have been a lot of questions about that and a lot of rumbling,” she told Fortune. “I’m humbled by the threads and the comments. I honestly am stunned, I haven’t been watching. I saw the first episode and part of another one, so I don’t know what’s going on there.”
“There’s a lot of talk about what’s going on there, and I read comments that people say to me, ‘Please come back,’ and ‘Please save the show,'” she continued. “It’s all flattering, and I wish the girls well. I’m doing other things though, and I just don’t know how that really would fit into my life as is.”
Does Andy Cohen want her to return?
Back in September 2019 and in the aftermath of Frankel leaving RHONY, Cohen shared his sentiments on his SiriusXM show. At the time he said he had hopes that Frankel would return to the show in the future as she had done in the past.
“She already left is what we need to remember,” Cohen said. “So, we were so lucky to have these last seasons with her on it. I just am living in the gratitude of her second return, and I will hopefully live in the gratitude of her third return. Because we are much like the mob, you can’t get out. And I, I do hope and think that she will come back sometime.”
For now, Frankel is focused on her HBO Max reality competition series, The Big Shot, slated to premiere soon.
