Bethenny Frankel: SWTS Was “Miserable,” Slams Martha Stewart & ‘NYC Housewives’

In one her most revealing/honest interviews to date, Bethenny Frankel discusses a number of topics including her run on Martha Stewart’s The Apprentice (she was the runner up), but most notable are Bethenny’s comments against the show that made her a star.

Bethenny, who quit the Real Housewives of New York City last year, takes her strongest stance to date against the Bravo hit show, stating that “women should not be rewarded for bad behavior.” Bethenny also discusses Jill Zarin, and her regret in doing Skating With The Stars. Excerpts from Bethenny’s interview with TV Guide below –

TV Guide Magazine: Flashback to 2005. You were a culinary school grad with a made-for-TV personality — did you think The Apprentice would be your big break?

Frankel: Oh, it was fool’s gold! I had a cookie company that was losing money and I was driving a $500 piece-of-junk car — I looked like a crack dealer — and I thought it was going to save me. I had a whole plan in my head: “Martha is getting older, and she will be smart enough to have me come on board.”

TV Guide Magazine: And…?

Frankel: Meeting her was a disappointment. I thought she would be as warm and fuzzy as her brand — like she’d want to bake you cupcakes. Sometimes when you meet your idol, it doesn’t live up to your expectations.

TV Guide Magazine: Then along came Housewives.

Frankel: For two months I turned it down. But I just kept thinking about it — with my business ideas, I had a tree with fruit ripe for the picking. Finally I said yes.

TV Guide Magazine: Is it a relief to be through with Housewives?

Frankel: Yes. Women should not be rewarded for bad behavior. The show evolved — or devolved — into something that is not even remotely who I am. The last season was excruciating.

TV Guide Magazine: You and former BFF Jill had a major on-air falling out. Have you reconciled?

Frankel: She never contacted me after the reunion show. She’d been contacting me for days upon days up until then, because I think she was nervous about how it would come off. I do not think her apology was genuine.

TV Guide Magazine: How is it having Bryn in the mix?

Frankel: She’s now 9, 10 months old and she can see the boom [microphone] — and Jason and I have started to talk about how long we would do this. I don’t know that I’d want to go on forever with her.

TV Guide Magazine: This season, we’ll see you struggle with your in-laws over their complaints that you don’t spend enough time with them….

Frankel: It strikes a chord — you’re not mad at me, you’re not mad at them, they’re nice people. But watching it, you’ll see the passive-aggressive comments that made me feel crazy. In my life, in many cases I look like the bad guy. But sometimes it’s like, maybe she’s not entirely insane.

In a separate interview with USA today, Bethenny expresses some regret in her decision to do ABC’s Skating With The Stars, which ended up being a ratings disaster.

“I just think it was not a wise decision. I had a new baby, crazy career and there was just no reason to put myself through that. I just thought it was fun and it was going to be ice skating,” said Bethenny. “I was painfully thin. I was just miserable. It was the single most excruciating experience of my life. And everyone took it so seriously.”

And finally, some good news for Bethenny as the ratings of her show Bethenny Ever After climbed 10% from last week, with 1.66 million viewers tuning in on Monday night. However, the ratings are still a bit down from last season’s average of 1.9 million viewers.

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