‘RHONY’: Bethenny Frankel, Jill Zarin ‘Disgusted’ and Shocked Bravo Producers ‘Ambushed’ Them at Bobby Zarin’s Funeral

Bethenny Frankel and Jill Zarin shared a moment of shock when Jill revealed that The Real Housewives of New York City producers did not ask to film Bethenny Frankel at her husband Bobby Zarin’s funeral.

Jill has been dragged for years for seemingly capitalizing on her husband’s death by inviting Bravo cameras to his funeral and then filming an emotional exchange with Bethenny. The two had been estranged after an explosive fight during Jill’s last season.

Like most RHONY fans, Bethenny thought Jill had called Bravo to film the funeral. So she was shocked but also “disgusted” to learn they had both been set up for the show.

Jill Zarin feels as though she was ‘taken advantage of’

“Andy said to me when Bobby was in the hospital he would have loved coverage of this,” Bethenny shared on her Just B podcast. “He then said, ‘Jill said you can bring the cameras to the funeral.’ That’s what he said to me.”

“If that was true, would they need a release from me, to get my voice on camera? Do they have one? I will tell you, they do not,” she wondered.

“If I tell you there is no release, you have to know I didn’t know,” Jill revealed. Adding, that executive producer Andy Cohen and RHONY producers weren’t overly concerned because they didn’t think Jill would sue them.  

“I was definitely taken advantage of,” Jill said.

That’s when Bethenny got heated. “What you’re saying is that I ambushed a funeral for f***ing reality television,” she said. “That’s disgusting.”

‘RHONY’ cast members’ minds about the wake after Bethenny Frankel filmed at the funeral

Bethenny’s part was only one aspect of how RHONY producers injected storyline into Bobby Zarin’s funeral. Jill then revealed that the other cast members refused to attend Bobby’s wake because Bethenny had already been on camera at the funeral.

“We wanted to have the girls come over for shiva,” Jill recalled. “And you know what happened? I invited the girls over and they wanted to film it. I didn’t care if they filmed it or not.” Because Jill didn’t want the actual shiva filmed, she planned to hold a special Friday night wake that would include some of the RHONY cast.

“But when the girls found out that you filmed,” Jill said to Bethenny. “Because they didn’t know you filmed either. When they found, you know what they said to Bravo? ‘We’re not going to Jill’s to shoot shiva.’ And I was hurt. Because that’s also not real!”

Jill also clarified that she wanted Bobby’s funeral to be included on RHONY as more of a tribute to him. “I wanted it covered in some way that he passed,” she said. “Not the funeral. I wanted his passing to be recognized on the show even though I was off the show. And coming to pay their respects at a shiva was a way to do it.”

Why were Bethenny and Jill feuding in the first place?

Jill and Bethenny also got to the root of why they feuded in the first place. The argument on RHONY was over how Jill didn’t feel as though Bethenny really supported her when Bobby had his initial health scare.

“The reason I was mad at you is because I was hurt,” Jill said to Bethenny. “And maybe I didn’t express it, I didn’t share it. I was hurt that I was losing you and was being left out of everything.”

Bethenny’s career and personal life were taking off and Jill admitted to feeling like she was left out. She also said she should have made up with Bethenny during that ambush meeting. But by then they were too far into their feud.