Bethenny Frankel Threatening To Quit ‘The Real Housewives Of New York City,’ Demanding Salary Increase [Report]
Is Bethenny Frankel planning to make an early exit from The Real Housewives of New York City? As the eighth season of the Bravo reality show remains in production, a source claims Bethenny Frankel has threatened to leave the show if she didn’t receive a pay raise.
“[Bethenny Frankel] is ready to take over television, and become the next Ellen DeGeneres,” an insider told Radar Online on December 10. “So before filming began for The Real Housewives of New York City, [Bethenny Frankel] demanded a huge pay increase.”
According to the site, Bethenny Frankel initially requested a salary of $2 million, which would have been double her salary from the seventh season of The Real Housewives of New York City. She ultimately agreed to a $1.5 million contract for three months of filming on Season 8.
Bethenny Frankel Demand’s Raise or Threatens to Quit Real Housewives of… – https://t.co/uKtZvMZnin #RHONY pic.twitter.com/309uDPfwpu
— Riot Housewives (@RiotHousewives) December 10, 2015
“[Bethenny Frankel] is a savvy businesswoman and was prepared to walk away from the series once again,” the source explained.
Meanwhile, Bethenny Frankel’s co-stars, including Ramona Singer, LuAnn de Lesseps, and Carole Radziwill, were said to be “furious” over her salary demands.
Best time of the year. Greatest city in the world. #NYC pic.twitter.com/b8qQvmN4wb
— Bethenny Frankel (@Bethenny) December 6, 2015
Bethenny Frankel was one of the original housewives when The Real Housewives of New York City began airing in March 2008. Along with LuAnn de Lesseps, Alex McCord, Ramona Singer, and Jill Zarin, Bethenny Frankel embarked on the second installment of the Real Housewives franchise and remained on the show through its third season.
Once Season 3 was complete, Bethenny Frankel took on a spinoff series, Bethenny Getting Married, which followed her and her former partner, Jason Hoppy (the two are currently involved in a messy divorce), as they prepared to walk down the aisle and welcome their first child together, Bryn Casey Hoppy. After the series captured decent ratings, it was renewed for a second season and renamed Bethenny Ever After. Then, after its third season, Bethenny Frankel left the show and moved on to her own FOX talk show, Bethenny, which has since been canceled.
Although rumors continuously swirled regarding Bethenny Frankel’s possible return to The Real Housewives of New York City for months after she left, they weren’t confirmed until one year ago, when she revealed she would be rejoining her co-stars for Season 7.
“After many years of hesitation, I have decided to return to my roots on The Real Housewives of New York City,” Bethenny Frankel revealed in a statement on her official website in 2014. “I have been through a long and arduous road since my departure, and I’m finally coming out on the other side. It finally feels right to go home again.”
“The idea of doing the show feels exciting and refreshing, like it did at the beginning all those years ago. New faces, new circumstances, and in many ways, a new me and a new life… Thank you for your honesty, for standing by me, laughing and crying with me, supporting me and motivating me. I can’t wait to see what the road ahead has in store for us.”
In the last few years, as mentioned above, Bethenny Frankel has been entangled in a nasty divorce with her soon-to-be ex-husband, Hoppy, as well as a custody battle over their young daughter. On the show, Bethenny Frankel has often opened up about her struggles during her time without her daughter, and at one point, she was seen bursting into tears as she revealed her heartache over not having Bryn with her full time.
[Photo by Paul Zimmerman/Getty Images for Westfield]
