According to Bethenny Frankel, her new Bethenny's Getting Married? spinoff is the real cause of her falling out with fellow The Real Housewives of New York City star Jill Zarin.
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"We did have an altercation on the show which was about my not being compassionate enough when her husband was sick -- which I didn't know -- and her kind of not being that happy for me about what was going with me in my life," explained Frankel during a Thursday appearance on The View.
"But what really was the impetus was she told my castmates not to film with me on Housewives because why help me out on my new show, in order to spin out. For me, that was messing around with my livelihood. I really took that very personally."
Despite their estrangement, Frankel claims she doesn't wish any ill will towards Zarin.
"I really do wish Jill the best and you never know what will happen in the future," she said. "But right now there's so many positive and pure, good things going on in my life that I don't really want to dig that up."
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The View's Sherri Shepherd asked Frankel if the drama viewers see between the ladies on The Real Housewives is made-for-TV.
"It's not put on. Possibly, all of us wouldn't necessarily be friends. We wouldn't necessarily be in these circumstances. It is really ugly, and it's why I may not come back if it were the same cast," explained Frankel, who reiterated that Bethenny's Getting Married? is not like The Real Housewives.
"My own show is not like that. It's humorous and emotional, but it's not because I walk into a party in a ball gown and smack somebody in the face. I think television shows don't have to be such a train wreck. I think that my show is witty."
Bethenny's Getting Married? premieres tonight on Bravo and will feature Frankel juggling her career with planning her March wedding to Jason Hoppy and the birth of their first child -- daughter Bryn Hoppy -- last month.
"You see that she exists," said Frankel about Bryn's participation in the show, adding it doesn't go much farther than that. "This isn't Jon & Kate."
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Frankel first appeared on The Apprentice: Martha Stewart several years ago and finished as the runner-up.
While Shepherd asked if Frankel would compare herself to The Apprentice star Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth in using the show to launch her career, Frankel said she instead likes to compare herself more to The View co-host and former Survivor: The Australian Outback castaway Elisabeth Hasselbeck.
"I think she's an interesting example because she used it to be infamous. I think Elisabeth is a better example for someone who's used it for a real career," explained Frankel.
"I have a real career. I have a brand. I have a very popular cocktail. I have two New York Times bestsellers. I have my own show. When I went on [The Apprentice: Martha Stewart], I wasn't buying diamonds and getting facials. I had no money two years before the show and I was like, 'I'm here. I'm in it to win it.'"
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio