Bethenny Frankel: 'Getting Married?' spinoff different than 'Housewives'

Bethenny Frankel claims it was "absolutely" a surprise that her new Bethenny's Getting Married? reality series is so different from The Real Housewives of New York City.


"I think everybody at Bravo and everybody who's seen it is surprised by that fact, that it could be so different. You get into the minutia of my life and the details of my life. You really get into my relationship with my husband and what it's like for me to have gotten myself down the aisle and to be pregnant -- all these changes in my life," Frankel told reporters during a Thursday media conference call.

"It's really funny and it's really emotional, but it's not catty. I don't have to yell at somebody for it to be entertaining. It doesn't give you a headache."

Bethenny's Getting Married? premieres Thursday, June 10 at 10PM ET/PT on Bravo and will feature The Real Housewives of New York City star as she juggles her career with planning her March wedding to Jason Hoppy and the birth of their first child -- daughter Bryn Hoppy -- last month.

"It's great," Frankel told reporters when asked what it's like to finally be a real housewife.


"I had the most beautiful wedding and I wasn't really thinking about what I looked like or who was there,  I just was so happy to be marrying Jason. I love it. I love being married to him. I feel like everything came together. It's really nice."

The Real Housewives of New York City's third-season finale aired last week, and Frankel said she honestly has "no idea" if she'll return for another installment.

"It's not a cliche when I say I don't believe in staying at a party too long. I just don't know what else there is to do there," she explained.

"If I had a lesser part in it and I just dipped in and dipped out once in a while, maybe. But what is there to say to [Jill Zarin]? There's nothing to say to Jill. I don't know what there is to say. I see [Alex McCord, Ramona Singer] on my show, which is really, really nice and pleasant."

In addition, Frankel said she feels her "purpose" on The Real Housewives of New York City is to offer commentary.


"Not because anyone tells me to, but because it's who I am," she said. "So I guess if they still need my running commentary, and I suppose the Greek chorus, perhaps I would do it. I don't know. You're seeing my life [on Bethenny's Getting Married?], so I don't know what I'd be doing there."

While she reiterated she'd return to The Real Housewives of New York City in a "lesser role," Frankel also added that the commentary she offered on the show reached a "heightened" level this season.

"My show is so refreshing compared to that," she told reporters.

Still, Frankel said she's unsure why she was chosen to star in a The Real Housewives spinoff.

"I guess they said they do focus groups to see what the viewer wants, they find out who the viewer wants to see more of -- like you want to step outside of Housewives to get inside this person's life. That's exactly what my show is," she explained.


"It's more micro; it's all about the devil's in the details -- getting into my life rather than seeing how my life relates to the other women."

Frankel added that McCord and Singer do make appearances on the show.

"It's only to the extent of what's really going on in my life. This isn't like anyone's being hired, or it's an appearance. I invited Alex to my bridal shower, and she came. I invited Ramona and she was out of town," she said.

"It's real. It's nothing orchestrated. There's no drama, there's no fighting. Jill's not on my show because Jill's not in my life."

Frankel's tenuous relationship with Zarin was well-documented during The Real Housewives of New York City's just-concluded third season, and she said she has not been in contact with Zarin recently.


"Of course I saw her at the reunion. She's reached out a couple of times in the last couple of months," she said.

"There's been a lot of changes on the show, and the show's kind of showed everything. But she's not in my life anymore, and this is a time that I really want people that are good for me and good for my family."

Viewers will also see Frankel attend therapy on Bethenny's Getting Married?, and she explained that was a decision she was definitely in favor of.

"I don't really have time to go to therapy. As a person that's in the public eye, you get sent necklaces, baby clothes -- people give you stuff. I'm not that much of a stuff person. But I will tell you something, I would do a show on my own just to have therapy," she said.

"To be able to have therapy once a week and have to be there, I run there. I'm so excited. I don't even realize the cameras are really there. I love it. The guy is really amazing. I've learned a lot."


Frankel added her therapy sessions are a "recurring theme" on her new show.

"It was actually my idea to do therapy on the show because I need therapy," she said.

"This is a true depiction of my life -- being pregnant while engaged, while planning a wedding, while trying to run a business, while shooting a show, while doing a book tour. It's not a bad thing to lock the door before you get robbed, going to therapy before you have a breakdown."

Frankel said her newborn daughter does appear on the show "a little bit" but added she she's a baby "it's not like she does anything."

However she said it is a "concern" to have her young daughter in the public eye.

"It's a conversation with my husband and myself," she said. "Once she's older and when she's more of a person, do we put her in some life that she really didn't sign up for? The answer is probably no and definitely in moderation."


Frankel has come under criticism in recent days for shedding so much weight after her daughter's birth, however she said it was all done naturally.

"Truthfully, I gained 35 pounds when I was pregnant. I gave birth five weeks early, so I probably would have been at 40 pounds -- which is a completely healthy weight to gain," she explained.

"As far as sending a message out to women, it's sending a message that you should be healthy before, during and after your pregnancy. I didn't do anything drastic; I didn't do anything different. My books have sold hundreds of thousands of copies because I teach women how to be naturally thin without obsessing over it."






About The Author: Christopher Rocchio