Bethenny Frankel has made contestant headlines ever since she got her start in reality TV.
Frankel made her first reality TV appearance in 2005 on The Apprentice: Martha Stewart. She finished as the runner-up in the competition for her BethennyBakes business, which made egg-free, wheat-free and dairy-free cookies and meal delivery in New York.
Following her time on The Apprentice, Frankel began starring on Bravo’s The Real Housewives of New York City in 2008. One year later, Frankel founded her soon-to-be lifestyle brand, Skinnygirl, known for its line of low-calorie cocktails and snacks.
Throughout her time on reality TV, Frankel married Jason Hoppy in 2010 and welcomed daughter Bryn that same year. The twosome separated in 2010 and went through a tumultuous legal battle resulting in their divorce not being finalized until 2021. The Bravo personality began dating Paul Bernon in 2018, however, the pair split in 2024.
Frankel’s latest headline centers around her move to Florida.
“The morning of March 19th, this wasn’t even a thought and by that evening, a series of events transpired and we decided it was the best move to move here,” Frankel said in a May 2025 TikTok video. “Within five weeks, [we] had sold and bought a home in both places. We’ll keep this apartment, but I sold my home and bought a house in Florida.”
Keep scrolling to learn more about Frankel’s life through the years:
2005
After founding BethennyBakes, a baking business that made egg-free, wheat-free and dairy-free cookies and meals in New York, Frankel starred on The Apprentice: Martha Stewart.
2008
Frankel began starring on the first season of The Real Housewives of New York City alongside Jill Zarin, Luann de Lesseps, Alex McCord and Ramona Singer.
2009
One year after starting RHONY, Frankel founded Skinnygirl. Her success led her to sell Skinnygirl Cocktails to Beam Global in 2011 for an estimated $100 million.
2010
After leaving RHONY the first time, Frankel landed a spinoff titled Bethenny Getting Married, which highlighted her new life as a wife to Hoppy.
2012
Frankel and Hoppy’s tumultuous divorce began.
“I’ve been burned. I have massive trust issues, and I have post-traumatic stress disorder. It was literally the most traumatizing thing I will hopefully ever go through in my life,” she shared on an April 2024 episode of her “Just B” podcast. “I thought I would never survive it. I did not see a way out. It was suffocating. I thought I was gonna be miserable for the rest of my life.”
2013
Frankel starred in her own talk show, Bethenny, produced by Ellen DeGeneres. The series was canceled in February 2014 after one season.
“It was way more constricting — it was like directing traffic,” she told Haute Living in April 2015. “It was way more filtered and edited than I like to be … I have a mouth for nighttime and I can’t be shackled.”
2015
After her talk show fell through, Frankel rejoined RHONY for season 7.
“I felt that people had lost touch with me and thought that maybe I had lost touch,” she explained to Haute Living in April 2015.
2016
Frankel dated Dennis Shields from 2016 until his passing from an accidental overdose in August 2018.
“I loved Dennis, and we talk about him a lot now, more [now] that the dust has settled,” she told Us Weekly in April 2019. “And grief is, like, it’s a crisis in and of itself, and we’re trying to survive and trying to feel, and you just wanna make yourself feel better in any way that you can. And now that months have gone by, I’ll have sad days.”
2017
Frankel founded the philanthropic organization, BStrong, that has provided disaster relief including producing 1 million face masks for medical professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
2018
Frankel began dating Bernon after meeting him on a dating app. The twosome reportedly broke up around May 2024.
“I wasn’t happy. Something needed to change,” Frankel explained on an episode of her “Just B” podcast in July 2024. “The relationship had its challenges, and nobody dumped anybody. But I went through it. I was scared because of my past and my abandonment issues.”
2019
Frankel left RHONY after season 11 of the show. While she left on good terms initially, she later made a series of allegations about reality TV, including questioning why reality stars aren’t part of the Hollywood writers and actors guild strikes for fair pay and better contracts.
“We’ve always been the losers,” she shared in a July 2023 Instagram video. “During the last writers strike, we were providing all the entertainment and that’s really when the gold rush of reality TV started.”
The business owner went on to note that while she earned millions because of her reality TV career, little of the money came from appearing on RHONY. “I have never made a single residual,” she claimed. “So either I’m missing something or we’re getting screwed too.”
2020
Frankel launched her “Just B” podcast that has had guests such as Paris Hilton, Mark Cuban, Heather El Moussa and more.
“I’m just thrilled because it’s something that I did completely for the right reasons,” she explained to Us in October 2020. “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.”
April 2025
The Bravo personality announced her move to Florida from New York with Bryn.
“We were down in Florida and something very personal transpired, and I went to school in Florida,” Frankel said on a May 2025 episode of her “Just B” podcast. “I don’t want to get into all the details of this now, but something happened, and my daughter, who had said years ago, ‘I want to move to Florida,’ she cried to me.”
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