A Big Apple bond! When Bravo fired Dorinda Medley from The Real Housewives of New York City earlier this year, she immediately turned to another veteran, Bethenny Frankel, for advice.
“We have become even closer. I really did help her through that entire journey,” Frankel, 49, exclusively told Us Weekly on Thursday, October 15, while promoting her “Just B With Bethenny Frankel” podcast. “I was the first phone call she made after she was let go, and I kind of walked her through what I thought was the best way for her to handle herself as a woman, as an employee.”
The Skinnygirl founder revealed that she was the one who urged Medley, 55, “to be honest about” being ousted from the reality series.
“99 percent of the people that leave the Housewives have been fired. I would be in the 1 percent,” Frankel, who chose to leave the show in 2019 to focus on her 10-year-old daughter, Bryn, philanthropy and future projects, told Us. “99 percent have been fired and kind of lie about it. And it was just good that she just walked through it and owned it.”
She added, “It’s OK to be broken up with. It’s OK to be let go. You know, it’s happened to everybody. And then you’re going to actually help somebody versus just pretending something and then no one’s relating to that because it’s not even the truth.”
Medley announced in August that she was leaving RHONY after six seasons. Weeks later, she appeared on Frankel’s podcast and confirmed that she had been fired.
“I was ready to go back. I was excited about going back. I was planning on going back, and I thought I would have a great year,” she said on October 6. “I wasn’t given that option.”
The Massachusetts native also acknowledged that she was going through a difficult time while filming season 12, which ended in September. Viewers saw her dealing with the aftermath of a massive flood at her home in The Berkshires as well as her breakup with John Mahdessian.
“I probably should have taken a year off,” Medley told her former costar. “I had a rough season, but that’s what we do as Housewives. We have good seasons, we have bad seasons.”
Frankel, for her part, has had a productive year. Since launching “Just B” in September, she has welcomed guests including Paris Hilton and Mark Cuban.
“I’m just thrilled because it’s something that I did completely for the right reasons,” the entrepreneur told Us. “I did the podcast just because I wanted to have conversations. I wanted an outlet and forum for just honest, nice conversation. So I’m really thrilled because it was completely a passion project.”
“Just B With Bethenny Frankel” can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever podcasts are available.
With reporting by Kayley Stumpe
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