Bethenny Frankel
(Photo by Bruce Glikas/WireImage)

Bethenny Frankel Breaks Down the Real Housewives of New York Cast Pay Scale

Why bring this up now? Bethenny Frankel is at it again. The former Real Housewives of New York star previously claimed she was over and done with the Real Housewives. Yet here she is again speaking on the subject.

The only logical explanation is she is piggybacking off the claims that Jill Zarin’s negotiating tactics put the kibosh on the RHONY: Legacy spinoff. Is Bethenny defending her former bestie? Or is Bethenny suggesting that the RHONY alum drives a hard bargain that could have indeed derailed Bravo’s interest in casting her?

If Bethenny’s revelations are to be believed, some of the ladies slated for Legacy would have also been negotiating hard. After all, these ladies are not new to the game. Some of them must have worked out a deal, as Legacy is a-go.

Bethenny claims most housewives “lie” about their salary

The Skinnygirl founder took to her Instagram to dish on “housewives salaries” as well as her former castmates “banding together” to negotiate a pay raise.

Bethenny did not disclose her most recent salary, claiming it would “upset the whole apple cart.” Rather, she chose to talk about the early years of the show. The cast was paid equally during the first few seasons. And despite there being a “bulk fee” for an unspecified number of episodes, there was an option to appear in “additional episodes” for more money.

Come Season 2, the cast as a whole earned a “percent increase.” They were comfortable enough to “leverage” and “negotiate,” the BStrong founder revealed.

Bethenny added that she and some of her castmates started “banding together” for higher salaries by Season 3. Jill asked Bethenny to “negotiate for” her at the time, something the lauded chef called a “wise” decision.

Divisions in the cast became more apparent. “The blondes,” presumably Ramona Singer, Sonja Morgan, and Alex McCord, started to “align together” for salary hikes. But Bethenny revealed that these ladies would often “get nervous,” then “break down” in favor of other financial options.

According to Bethenny, Bravo sticks to “precedent” when it comes to Real Housewives salaries, but there are different deals based on the number of episodes filmed. Even an entire season.

The entrepreneur advised that castmates discuss their salaries among each other and determine if they are on the “right path.” That way, all Housewives can decide if they’re getting “clipped” or not.

Salaries vary from “$25,000” to “seven figures,” though it’s not unheard of to earn even “more.” Even for a freshman season. Though Bethenny claimed most “lie about what they’re getting paid.”

TELL US – ARE YOU SURPRISED JILL ASKED BETHENNY TO NEGOTIATE FOR HER? DO YOU BELIEVE HOUSEWIVES LIE ABOUT THEIR SALARY? WHICH OF THE RHONY CAST DO YOU THINK BANDED TOGETHER TO NEGOTIATE?

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