Luann de Lesseps Slams Bethenny Frankel In Recent Interview

During a July 28, 2020, appearance on comedian Heather McDonald’s Juicy Scoop podcast, Real Housewives of New York star Luann de Lesseps slammed former castmate, Bethenny Frankel.

During the interview, McDonald asked Lesseps about the current status of her friendship with Frankel. In response, Lesseps said “I am not in touch with Bethenny. I wish her the best. We’ve been friends off and on for many years, so I don’t hold any grudges, I’m just not that person, but I feel like she’s been a good friend and she’s not been a good friend. With Bethenny it’s interesting, you know, when you’re down she loves to pick you up and when you’re up, she loves to rip you down.”

Lesseps and McDonald continued into a conversation about Frankel and recalled the time when Frankel laid into Sonja Morgan because she had started her own liquor line, similar to Frankel’s Skinnygirl. “She’s ripped us all apart,” Lesseps said, “I don’t feel she should get away with that. You can be a good girlfriend, but the problem is…it’s like hero syndrome of some sort. Let’s put it this way, when this whole thing with Tom, she told me on the show, and I don’t necessarily think a good girlfriend would save it for the cameras.”

Lesseps Revealed That She Was ‘Relieved’ When Frankel Left The Series

During the podcast episode, Lesseps revealed that she was “relieved” when Frankel left the show for Season 12. Frankel was a fulltime cast member from the show’s first season in 2008 until its fourth season in 2011. She returned to the show in Season 7 in 2015 and left again at the end of Season 11.

“I was relieved because she’s always after me,” Lesseps said, “You know, she gets up for me, you know certain people you get up for in the morning. I kind of take it as a compliment on one hand, and you know, who else can I spar with like that? God knows we’ve had our moments, and I look at her like really, girlfriend? You need to get laid. We’ve had some really strong interactions because I’m a strong woman, she’s a strong woman. That makes it much more interesting. It’s not easy because she’s very quick and sharp-tongued and she doesn’t play fair, so it’s not an easy game to play.”

Frankel Was Rumored To Be Re-Joining The Show For Next Season

On July 15, Andy Cohen posted a photo of him and Frankel hanging out together to Instagram. In the caption, Cohen wrote, “This #RHONY Reunion was short on drama, but lots of laughs.” Though the two are just close friends, the photo sparked rumors among fans that Frankel may be returning to the series.

However, Frankel shot down the rumor in a recent interview with Fortune. “I honestly am stunned,” Frankel told Fortune. “I haven’t been watching. I saw the first episode and part of another one, so I don’t know what’s going on there. There’s a lot of talk about what’s going on there, and I read comments that people say to me, ‘Please come back,’ and ‘Please save the show.’ It’s all flattering, and I wish the girls well. I’m doing other things though, and I just don’t know how that really would fit into my life as is.”

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