Bethenny Frankel, star of The Real Housewives of New York City, has announced that she will be leaving the Bravo franchise for the second and final time. Season 11 of The Real Housewives of New York City finished airing July 2019, and Frankel will not be returning for Season 12.
Frankel was one of the original stars cast on the show when it began airing, and she was one of the housewives for seasons 1 through 3. Frankel took a hiatus from the Bravo show to pursue other opportunities, including a spinoff series, Bethenny Getting Married?, which aired from June 2010 to May of 2012, as well as her talk show Bethenny, which was on the air from June 2012 until July 2014. Following the cancellation of her talk show, it was announced that Frankel would be making her return to The Real Housewives of New York City for season 7, and she hasn’t missed a year since then.
On Aug. 21, 2019 - the week that The Real Housewives of New York City season 12 reportedly started filming - Variety reported that Frankel would be leaving the show for the second time and that she had no plans of returning in the future. Frankel said in a statement that she was choosing to leave the show “to explore [her] next chapter” and she wrote that her experience at Bravo has been “an incredibly magical ride.” Earlier in 2019, Frankel signed a production with MGM Television and Mark Burnett, which she referenced in her statement, claiming, “it’s time to move on and focus on my daughter, my philanthropy and my production partnership with Mark Burnett,” which will give her the opportunity to produce and star in shows that “represent a shift in the conversation for women.” Frankel posted a heartfelt message to her Instagram page as well, addressing all her followers and supporters, writing that “you have shared your ideas with me and I have been inspired by and learned from you.” Read the full statement from her post below:
Frankel then concluded the lengthy post with writing words of encouragement to her fans to never give up. She wrote to just “GO for it. Whatever it is.” The former Real Housewives of New York City star urged her followers to “reach for your dreams in life and love and make the impossible happen.” Frankel, an entrepreneur who is now worth millions, explained earlier in the post that when she came to New York City she had very little except for her big dreams. She maintained that attitude is everything in achieving dreams, writing, “Come from a place of yes and it’s yours for the taking.”
The remaining cast members on the show as of now are Ramona Singer, Sonja Morgan, Luann de Lesseps, Dorinda Medley, and Tinsley Mortimer. Rumors were recently flying around that Barbara Kovavit, who first appeared as a friend of de Lesseps during season 11, would be returning for season 12. However, she recently told a fan it didn’t look like she would be back. since the Real Housewives of New York cast typically sits around 6 or 7 women, it seems there will have to be another housewife cast in order to fill Frankel’s void on the show.
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Source: Variety, Bethenny Frankel
