Bethenny Frankel has had her fair share of drama with members of the Real Housewives of New York City — but she has sparked some controversy with people outside of the franchise as well.
In February 2023, Frankel revealed that she had an unexpected feud with Martha Stewart after appearing as a contestant on The Apprentice: Martha Stewart in 2005.
“We’re definitely not friends, but we almost did this TV project together despite the fact that she can’t stand me,” Frankel claimed during an episode of her “Just B with Bethenny Frankel” podcast. “And I can’t really stand her either. I’ve always respected her work ethic, and that she’s a ball-buster going for it her own way, and whether or not she’ll admit it or not, she feels the same way about me.”
Frankel went on to explain how a series of alleged misunderstandings created friction between the twosome. Although the Bravo personality made it to the season’s final two, she ended up getting fired by Stewart.
“What she said to me when she fired me was insane,” Frankel shared at the time. “She said, ‘Bethenny, you’re pushy, you’re a show-off and you feel the need to make a physical impression which is not entirely necessary at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.’”
Stewart has yet to comment on Frankel’s allegations.
Keep scrolling to see more of Frankel’s unexpected feuds:
In February 2024, Frankel posted a social media video where she predicted that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce would call it quits. Travis’ father, Ed Kelce, responded by sharing an article with Frankel’s comments, adding via Facebook, “Who TF is this troll?”
Courtesy of Ed Kelce/Instagram; Getty Images(3)
In December 2023, the Barstool Sports Founder said that he was not on good terms with Frankel after she weighed in on his split from Silvana Mojica.
“I know your audience, first of all,” Portnoy said about Frankel on an episode of his “BFFs” podcast. “You think I give a f—k what you think?” After Portnoy and Mojica’s breakup went public, rumors started to swirl that Portnoy had cheated on her with Vanderpump Rules alum Rachel “Raquel” Leviss. However, Portnoy denied the “insane” allegation and slammed Leviss.
“I can confirm I’ve never met that trash bag in my life and it’s wildly insulting to even be mentioned in the same sentence as her,” he told Page Six in November of that year. After the “trash bag” comment, Portnoy claimed Frankel texted him to ask if he knew Leviss. (Leviss had previously made an appearance on Frankel’s podcast.) “I only know her from being the trash bag from Vanderpump Rules,” Portnoy claimed on his podcast, adding that Frankel allegedly asked him to apologize to Leviss. “I was like, ‘I gotta be honest … I would never give unsolicited advice to somebody that has our relationship,” he noted. In a since-deleted Tik-Tok video, Frankel also addressed Portnoy’s comments towards Leviss. “He doesn’t know Raquel, they’ve never met,” she explained. “She has made mistakes, but whatever he’s saying about her is based on an edited, alcohol-fueled, produced reality show. He’s going through a bad breakup and I’m sure his ex gave him a lot of s—t about being linked to Raquel but that’s not an excuse to say something like that to anyone, much less a woman.”
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Frankel claimed in February 2023 that Stewart wasn’t a big fan of hers after she starred on The Apprentice: Martha Stewart in 2005. Frankel ended up getting fired from the show despite making it to the season’s final two.
“Oh yeah, she hated me. She hated me,” Frankel alleged on an episode of “Just B with Bethenny Frankel.”
Shortly after the season wrapped production, Frankel ran into Stewart again while at a party in St. Barts.
Frankel said that Stewart greeted her and introduced her to a friend, saying, “This is Bethenny, she was on my show but she didn’t win, so she’s mad at me.”
The Bravo personality then said she told Stewart she wasn’t “mad” at her. “You’re like someone I used to date that I’m still in love with,” Frankel joked. “That was that, and it was icy.”
The pair have continued to run into each other over the years, with Stewart even guest-starring on Frankel’s podcast where she described the RHONY star as “a pest” during her time on The Apprentice.
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The View cohost slammed Frankel on a June 2019 episode of the talk show while discussing a breakdown Frankel had during a Miami girls’ trip on RHONY.
“I don’t know Bethenny, but I have seen her behave like that on the beach,” Hostin explained. “I have seen that kind of behavior when Bethenny yelled at my child at the beach.”
Hostin went on to claim that her daughter, Paloma, was “about 7” and playing with other children in the afternoon when Frankel claimed that her own daughter, Bryn, was “napping inside with the window open” and the children were “being too loud on the beach.”
“She yelled at my child, and I went out there and stood in front of my child, and I yelled at her and told her that adults speak to adults,” she claimed. “And she knows I’m telling the truth.”
When Frankel was asked about the incident on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, she claimed that she had no memory of it ever happening.
“I think she’s been drinking or taking some drugs. I don’t know her!” Frankel said.
Hostin took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to defend herself and slam Frankel once again.
“Not surprising that a Reality TV personality who yells and bullies little kids on a beach lies,” she wrote at the time. “But I have witnesses @Bethenny. @rmjansen feel free to weight in. #receipts Oh and @Bethenny – defamation ain’t cute….”
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Ahead of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s tell-all interview on CBS in March 2021, Frankel slammed Markle.
“Cry me a river,” she tweeted. “The plight of being a game show host, fairly unknown actress, to suffering in a palace, w tiaras & 7 figure weddings for TWO WHOLE YEARS to being a household name.”
She continued: “I chose reality TV, to work towards making $, to be scrutinized & criticized. I took the trappings & the beatings along with it. It’s a rose w petals & thorns. People beg to enter the often toxic institution I signed up for. That WAS the life I chose. You can’t play stupid & smart.”
After Frankel’s comments, Stause jumped into Markle’s defense and criticized the RHONY star.
“Not a white housewife comparing her struggle to Meghan’s,” the Selling Sunset star wrote at the time. “A woman of color joining the Royal Family. It’s the delusion for me. Everyone is working overtime trying to silence her. Let us hear what she has to say!”
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