All hail the Queen of Reality TV. At least according to MTV. The network created The Reality Royalty Award at last year’s MTV Movie & TV Awards: Unscripted. Now a Real Housewives of New York icon will be honored with the achievement for 2022. The Unscripted portion of the awards show pays homage to the overwhelming amount of reality show content that is now an entertainment staple.
As reported by Variety, Bethenny Frankel received the award at MTV’s annual event. Bethenny’s reality TV career spans back to 2005 when she appeared on The Apprentice: Martha Stewart. She came in second place but only 3 years later, she was cast on Bravo’s RHONY. Her fame and likability on the show earned her a spinoff called Bethenny Ever After. The show followed her getting married and having a baby. It ran for 3 seasons before she was welcomed back to RHONY. Bethenny made her final exit from the franchise in 2019.
Outside of Bravo, Bethenny also had her own (short lived) talk show. In addition, her 2021 series Big Shot With Bethenny aired on HBO. The competition featured contestants trying to nab a spot as Bethenny’s right hand man (or woman) at her business empire. That empire consists mainly of Skinnygirl Cocktails, which she created in 2009. The original drink, a pre-made, low calorie margarita mix, was the first of its kind. Bethenny sold the liquor portion of the company for a reported $120 million. Ever the smart businesswoman, she kept the rights to the Skinnygirl name so she could launch other products. Skinnygirl now has everything from popcorn to jeans sold on HSN.
Bethenny has also authored 1o books with half of them being best sellers. Her most recent book, Business Is Personal: The Truth About What it Takes to Be Successful While Staying True to Yourself was released this year. In the book, she gives advice on business and what she has learned form big names like Hillary Clinton and Mark Cuban.
Now that she’s off reality TV, Bethenny has focused her energy on more charitable endeavors. Her BStrong Foundation was created in 2017 and specializes in disaster relief. BStrong has helped victims of natural disasters in California, Puerto Rico, Haiti to name a few. The organization recently raised a staggering $100 million for Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war. In her personal life, she is currently engaged to Paul Bernon, who has also pitched in on her philanthropic efforts.
The “unscripted” part of the show aired after MTV Movie & TV Awards and it was hosted by Tayshia Adams. Congrats to Bethenny!
TELL US – WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT BETHENNY RECEIVING THIS AWARD? WHO WOULD YOU NOMINATE? DID YOU WATCH?
[Photo Credit: Charles Sykes/Bravo]
