Bethenny Frankel is glad to be back on the reunion couch, even though she admits it’s pretty much the same crazy train she de-boarded just a handful of years ago. The first installment of the Real Housewives of New York 3-part reunion saw Bethenny on the hot seat for a while, a position she doesn’t seem to mind. She reacts in her blog this week to how success has (or as she claims, hasn’t) changed her, how she feels about the her castmates owning (or not owning…cough, cough, Sonja Morgan) their issues, and the real reason she thinks Luann de Lesseps is like a dog with a bone when it comes to Carole Radziwill’s relationship with Luann’s former chef, Adam.
Bethenny begins by touching on her private life, and why she has placed boundaries around what she will and will not discuss on camera. “Thank you all for respecting my desire to not talk about my divorce or my personal situation,” writes Bethenny. “My life is an open book in many ways, but my daughter is my first priority, and that is what is best for her. That is my responsibility.”
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“The reunion was nuts, as they all are,” snarks Bethenny. “I actually enjoy them, because they are the moments when you need to be and hold others accountable for their actions on and off camera.” Although her relationship – and her reunion sparring – with Heather Thomson began on rocky footing, Bethenny shares, “I liked how Heather and I were heated but able to work through things. She tries to work on herself and evolve, and I was tickled and impressed that she chose to retire ‘Holla.’“
At peace with her return to RHONY, Bethenny maintains, “I am grateful to be back, and whether or not the girls wanted to take me down (this is very common on these shows), I nonetheless enjoyed the experience. This is my journey and my truth, and I am honest with you.”
Bethenny does admit that she returned to the show under much different circumstances than she left it. “Here, I’ll say it: I have been very successful in the years that I’ve left. Success hasn’t changed me in that I know where I come from, I try to be humble, and I understand the value of a dollar. I don’t know how my success has affected the other women. I know that it has, because I feel it, but we are an ensemble. We work together, I’m grateful to be part of this experience, and I appreciate and respect these women very much in different ways.”
Moving on to the reunion itself, Bethenny reveals why she thinks Luann has gotten irrationally increasingly heated over Carole’s relationship with Adam these past months. She explains, “How I honestly feel is this: It did irritate Luann that Carole was with her niece’s ex. The age was low-hanging fruit that was easy for her to grab onto and be pissed. She was actually fairly fine with it and then Turks happened. Luann thought they were good friends and thought she was ambushed in her room and that was it for her and Carole. Luann was done. Luann did talk out of both sides of her mouth, and her story was not straight as a result.”
“Carole was confused and wanted a straight answer and felt that Luann has been hypocritical, which has been a common criticism in the past,” continues Bethenny. “I do not think that Luann cares about the age, and I do think that Luann would hang with someone young. I just think it got all mucked up in the delivery and Turks and their battle thereafter left a lot of damage.” I have to agree with this argument. It does seem like Turks and Caicos changed everything, at least in Countess Land.
As for the rumors that Bethenny and Carole are BFF’s now, Bethenny says it ain’t so. “Contrary to the party line, I’m not ‘besties’ with Carole or anyone else. I don’t favor Carole over anyone. I have different relationships with each woman. I relate to Ramona [Singer] on her divorce. Carole feels trustworthy to me. She is single, mellow, and never feels like she is using me. Luann and I are practically neighbors and have a history. I like when she owns her actions, but she rightfully doesn’t feel that everyone needs to clock her on what she is doing. She is a grown woman doing her. The girl code and Countess appropriateness is what has made this dynamic tricky.”
Sonja, however, is still someone who Bethenny thinks isn’t owing her sh*t, therefore remains somewhat of a baffling mystery, albeit a harmless one. Bethenny briefly blogs that Sonja “seems to be a good person to me. She doesn’t own her stuff, but she is not alone in that on this cast. I’ll leave it at that.”
Maintaining that she keeps the “real” in reality TV, Bethenny assures, “The only one I can speak for with certainty is myself, and I am accountable to you and keeping it 100 for as long as I’m on the show.” And the realness will just keep on coming as parts two and three of the RHONY reunion hit us in the coming weeks. Bethenny tells viewers to “Keep watching. It just gets better.”
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Photo Credit: Photo by: Charles Sykes/Bravo
