Bethenny Frankel doesn’t have time for the haters.
After her former Real Housewives of New York City co-stars Luann de Lesseps and Carole Radziwill and her former boss Andy Cohen slammed her new Housewives rewatch podcast, ReWives, Bethenny tells ExtraTV that she knew the backlash was coming and she couldn’t care less.
“I play chess and many people play checkers… Listen, if people are worried about it or having a hard time with it, I get it. I predicted it… I’m always a few moves ahead of everyone else, so enjoy… Don’t worry, everyone’s worried. It’s okay,” Bethenny told the outlet.
The entrepreneur and former housewife went on to share that the podcast was already a success before it even began airing, revealing that the show “shot to the number eight spot” before its debut episode aired.
There’s already a plethora of Housewives content out there from former and current cast members spanning multiple franchises, including content from Tamra Judge, Teddi Mellencamp, Kelly Dodd, Meghan King, Brandi Glanville, and Heather Dubrow among others.
However, Bethenny says hers is the one to watch because it’s not what fans will “expect.”
“This is not just a side dish; this has got the cake and the frosting and the filling and the flavor and the tenderness… It’s amazing, and it’s not what you would expect. It’s not cheap, low-hanging, crappy fruit,” Bethenny insisted.
Bethenny credits her fiancé, Paul Bernon, for helping boost her confidence for the podcast, and he called her “the Tom Brady” of housewives.
“Paul said, ‘You got to do it, you got to think about a re-watch and there’s no other person that should be doing it more than you.’ He said, ‘We want to see Tom Brady breaking down the game.’”
Bethenny went on to explain that her iteration of a rewatch podcast won’t be an exact play-by-play of every RHONY episode, but rather, it will discuss “iconic” episodes that “jump off the page.” She then added that she will have guests on that pertain to and “fit” the episodes, and she will talk about moments “that were major conversation starters from all cities of the franchise.”
Bethenny concluded that she probably wouldn’t be watching any iteration of the new RHONY shows now that she’s “in this [podcast] world,” and she said she is at “peace” now that she’s no longer part of Bravo. No amount of money the network throws at her can change her mind.
“I have sense of certainty and peace in my life. I am resting and healing and I have a great relationship with my daughter and my fiancé. Things are calm and they’re not erratic. I’ve chosen the career that I want to have and walked away from many, many lucrative opportunities that I don’t want to participate in, so I’m very clear in doing only what I want to do,” she said.
“It’s not all about the Benjamins, baby,” Bethenny reminded fans.