Bethenny Frankel

Bethenny Frankel was married to entertainment executive Peter Sussman from 1996 to 1997. She married pharmaceutical sales executive Jason Hoppy in 2010, and they have one daughter, Bryn Casey Hoppy. Frankel and Hoppy separated in 2012, and their divorce was finalized in 2021 after years of custody litigation.

Frankel dated banker Dennis Shields from 2016 until his death in 2018. She met film producer and commercial real estate developer Paul Bernon on a dating app in 2018, and they became engaged in 2021. Frankel ended that engagement after nearly six years because she was unhappy. She has described her religious identity as spiritual and cultural, with both Jewish and Catholic influences in her upbringing.

Frankel moved to Los Angeles in 1992 intending to pursue acting. She held small acting roles and worked as an assistant to Kathy Hilton, Jerry Bruckheimer, and Linda Bruckheimer. She also worked as a production assistant on Saved by the Bell. Her early businesses included the party-planning company In Any Event and Princess Pashmina, a pashmina scarf venture.

In 2005, Frankel became the runner-up on NBC's reality competition series The Apprentice: Martha Stewart. She joined Bravo's The Real Housewives of New York City in 2008 and became one of the show's original cast members. She left after its third season, returned for its seventh season in 2015, and remained with the series through 2019.

Her Real Housewives profile led to the spin-off Bethenny Getting Married?, later retitled Bethenny Ever After. The series followed her engagement and marriage to Jason Hoppy, the birth of their daughter, and the development of her business career. Its premiere was Bravo's highest-rated at the time, attracting 2.1 million viewers.

Frankel hosted the nationally syndicated daytime talk show Bethenny, which premiered in 2013 and ended after one season. She later created the production company B Real-ity and produced the FYI series Food Porn.

She starred with Fredrik Eklund in the Bravo real estate series Bethenny & Fredrik, which premiered in 2018. In 2021, she created, produced, and hosted the HBO Max reality competition series The Big Shot with Bethenny, in which aspiring business moguls competed for a position on her executive team. She also appeared as a guest shark on Shark Tank and hosted Money Court with Kevin O'Leary.

Frankel founded BethennyBakes in 2003 after attending the Natural Gourmet Institute. The business produced egg-free, wheat-free, and dairy-free cookies, meals for private clients, and a meal-delivery service in New York City. It was featured on The Apprentice: Martha Stewart and closed in 2006.

She created Skinnygirl Margarita in 2009, establishing the Skinnygirl Cocktails line and the wider Skinnygirl brand. The cocktail business was sold to Beam Global in 2011, while Frankel retained the Skinnygirl name for products including food, cookware, shapewear, apparel, and accessories. She also launched the wine brand FOREVER YOUNG in 2023.

Frankel has written books on food, dieting, business, relationships, and self-help. Her titles include Naturally Thin, The Skinnygirl Dish, A Place of Yes, Skinnydipping, Cookie Meets Peanut, I Suck at Relationships So You Don't Have To, and Business Is Personal: The Truth About What It Takes to Be Successful While Staying True to Yourself.

She launched the podcast Just B with Bethenny Frankel in 2020 and co-hosted ReWives from 2022 to 2024. In 2023, she called for reality television personalities to unionize and receive stronger workplace protections, including residual-style compensation and the ability to leave filming without financial penalties.

Frankel founded BStrong, a philanthropic organization that began with a focus on assisting women and expanded into disaster relief. In 2017, she traveled to Houston after Hurricane Harvey, helped with recovery efforts in Mexico following the Puebla earthquake, and chartered four planes to deliver medical supplies, food, water, and hygiene products to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.

BStrong later raised funds and distributed personal protective equipment to hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the organization supplied relief kits and raised donations for humanitarian assistance. In 2025, Frankel and BStrong supported victims of the Southern California wildfires by distributing cash cards and assisting with temporary housing.