It’s not because of money, OK?!
Bethenny Frankel is finally opening up about the REAL reason she up and left Real Housewives of New York City after eight seasons in a new interview with Variety. And to hear the 49-year-old business mogul tell all, it turns out the opposite was true: she was only staying on the show because of the money!
Related: Andy Cohen Is Still Hopeful Bethenny Will Decide To Come Back!
Speaking about her motivations for walking away from such a lucrative reality TV existence, the Skinnygirl head honcho admitted to the media outlet (below):
“I was possibly going back, but I just kept thinking: I discussed it with my boyfriend [Paul Bernon] and my friends on beach walks. Everyone thinks I left because of money. I wasn’t leaving because of money, I was staying because of money. It no longer became this platform to promote my business, because I had done that, and there was more promoting sort of new and questionable businesses than the legitimate ones at this point, if that makes any sense. So it wasn’t the platform anymore. It was really the paycheck, which was, you know, astronomical at that point. And I just thought to myself, a bartender, a high-class prostitute who’s making a lot of money, you gotta sometimes make a move, and just say, ‘Let me just do what feels right to me.'”
Uhhhh, OK then! We guess that makes sense! At some point, she must’ve just had enough money, right??
She didn’t stop there, though, calling the Housewives experience in general “exhausting and emotional” and adding more about her motivation for up and walking away on such short notice:
“I had to deal with this, because they were starting to film, and I thought to myself, ‘I’m out. I’m just out.’ … It’s taken me longer to order a pasta dish than just to decide this. I just was looking for a reason. And I just was ready to do it. I didn’t want to be there anymore. I didn’t want to be there anymore. I mean, honestly — I just didn’t. People across the franchise will tell you they develop anxiety, and it’s very stressful. And that’s not how I am in the relationships that I’ve cultivated over the years. My ex, Dennis, used to say, ‘If someone said what that person said to you, I would never speak to them again as long as I live.’ You’re in a show environment, and it’s taxing. But sometimes what’s happening emotionally on the screen is also a result of exhaustion.”
Noooo kidding! It must be insane to go through the drama for EIGHT seasons!
Add that to the fact Bethenny has a very successful career with her Skinnygirl empire, so it’s not like she was hurting for professional success, or anything.
Related: Luann De Lesseps Shades Bethenny Over Her ‘RHONY’ Departure
The (former) reality TV star noted as much, saying:
“I have a real career. So it’s really hard 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. 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.”
Amen to that!
Eventually, the ‘gotcha’ gossip wore her down, Frankel admitted at the end of the interview.
After eight years of drama, it eventually became clear she had better things to do with her life:
“There’s a level of gossip, and a level of ‘gotcha’ — like, ‘oh, you did that and you cheated and you’re really broke, and you did this.’ I just was ready. I just felt like I have to kind of really spend my time focusing on business, my daughter, philanthropy. You want to just feel good about what you did. There’s no price on sanity, and your mental health and your emotional health. And you can’t pay me enough to just have a hysterical meltdown crying right now. There’s no amount of money that could make me want to sit somewhere and cry over something I wouldn’t normally care about.”
We can believe that!
What do U think about these revelations, Perezcious readers?! Sound OFF with your take about the whole thing in the comments (below)…
[Image via WENN/Instar]
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