Bethenny Frankel fans shouldn’t expect the Real Housewives of New York City legend to appear on the highly anticipated RHONY Legacy show that’s in the works. “I think you’re pretty unlikely [to see her],” Andy Cohen, 54, told HollywoodLife‘s Ali Stagnitta EXCLUSIVELY while promoting his FRESCA™ Mixed partnership, which is FRESCA’s new line of premium, pre-mixed cocktails. Bethenny, 52, starred on the show during its premiere season in 2008 and became a fan-favorite during her three-season run. She then left for her very own spinoff, Bethenny Ever After, which aired between 2010 and 2012. She rejoined RHONY for Season 7 and left the hit Bravo series once again after Season 11 in 2019.
“I left because it became not who I really was anymore, and you can’t do something out of fear,” she explained on Paris Hilton‘s This Is Paris podcast in April 2022. She added that she was solely there for the paycheck and hinted that she wasn’t fond of how the show had evolved. “I was there in the beginning when it was something that none of us really even knew what it was, and now it’s something that … people have a preconceived notion about it, and they know what’s going to happen,” she theorized.
“I mean, how many charity events can we go to? How many friends can we not support on vacations, and how much drama do we want to avoid and then go right into the drama on the vacation?” she continued. “So … the time had come [for me to leave].”
Bethenny also shaded being a housewife during a Feb. 2020 chat with Variety by hinting that it was not a real job. “I have a real career. So it’s really hard [to be on the show] when we’re not covering that what I’m really doing is my career, because I then have to do the show and my real career,” she bluntly stated. “So if we’re just showing me having lunches and on vacations, then I’ve got three jobs — because I’ve got to be a mother too. So it becomes really exhausting and taxing, and you get mired in caring about things and people that you just normally wouldn’t care about.”
As fans know, Bethenny has done quite well for herself over the years as the CEO of Skinnygirl, a lifestyle brand offering everything from low-calorie alcohol to clothing. Over the summer, she launched her new Forever Young wine brand, which she can be seen promoting in the video above. The mother of one launched her Just B podcast in 2020 and a business competition series, The Big Shot with Bethenny, in 2021. She is also a New York Times bestselling author with multiple books, and so much more.
Bethenny isn’t the only RHONY favorite who doesn’t plan to appear in the upcoming RHONY: Legacy spinoff. Andy also revealed that it “doesn’t seem like” Ramona Singer is in favor of returning to Bravo screens either. “She’s in the happiest place I think she’s been in since I’ve known her. Which is, you know, 13, 14 years,” he noted. “If you follow her on social media, she’s living her best life. And she’s having a lot of fun. And she looks great.”
Andy confirmed in March that there is definitely a show in the works that features some of the most iconic Real Housewives of New York City stars. The show will be a separate series from the rebooted RHONY, which is currently filming with a brand-new cast. “You know that we’re at a crossroads for RHONY,” he told Variety. “We’ve spent a lot of time figuring out where to go. And the plan that we’ve come up with, I think, is a real gift to the fans.”