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Bethenny Frankel To Return To ‘Real Housewives’ Franchise, Serve As Producer Of ‘RHONY’

By Lindsay Cronin
Published on: 02:07 PST, Oct 9, 2015

Bethenny Frankel returned to The Real Housewives of New York City at the end of last year after a three-season hiatus. However, after the Bravo reality series’ seventh season wrapped, fans were left in limbo about her potential return. While Bethenny Frankel’s comeback saw an increase in ratings, a recent interview led many to believe The Real Housewives of New York City Season 8 could be without her.

At the end of last month, Bethenny Frankel spoke to People Magazine, claiming her return to the reality show was most definitely not set in stone.

“I’m really glad I came back,” Bethenny Frankel told the magazine on September 30. “It was great. It was eerily great. I appreciated being myself, being honest and commenting on the things I think are ridiculous. [Having that] be my job is pretty awesome.”

Bethenny Frankel went on to reveal her fans were thrilled with her return, leading her to feel embraced by the viewers and “really happy” to be back.

Bethenny Frankel was one of the five original housewives when The Real Housewives of New York City began airing on Bravo in March of 2008 as the second city to host a Real Housewives franchise (the first was Orange County). At the time, Bethenny Frankel was joined by co-stars Jill Zarin, Ramona Singer, LuAnn de Lesseps, and Alex McCord. Then, in 2010, after starring on the series for three seasons, Bethenny Frankel moved on from the Bravo reality show to a spinoff series, Bethenny Getting Married, which aired for one season before being renamed Bethenny Ever After. The spinoff followed Bethenny Frankel and her now-estranged husband, Jason Hoppy, as they got married and welcomed their first child together, daughter Bryn Casey Hoppy. Years after the show wrapped, Bethenny Frankel chose to return to her roots on The Real Housewives of New York City, but then, in her September interview with People Magazine, she claimed she was hoping to adjust her hectic schedule.

“I’m weighing a bunch of different opportunities and deciding how I want to spend my time. I never want to go back to that place I was at a couple years ago where it was just non-stop. I felt like I was on a ride and I wanted to get off.”

Despite Bethenny Frankel’s comments, which seemed to hint she would be moving on from The Real Housewives of New York City, a source on October 8 told the New York Daily News’ Confidenti@l that Bethenny Frankel’s role with the network will actually be increasing ahead of Season 8. In addition to returning to her full-time role, the source claimed Bethenny Frankel will also be acting as “uncredited producer” on the series’ eighth season.

Below is what a source told Confidenti@l on Thursday.

“[Bethenny Frankel] is acting as a producer and if she doesn’t like you, you’re off the show. You saw what happened with Kristen (Taekman) and Heather (Thomson). Bye-bye, see you later. She didn’t like them.”

The Confidenti@l source also claimed Bethenny Frankel, LuAnn de Lesseps, Sonja Morgan, and Ramona Singer have yet to receive their official contracts, even though filming is set to begin in just days.

Bethenny Frankel is expected to receive $1.5 million for her return and uncredited producer role on The Real Housewives of New York City Season 8 (she reportedly received a $1 million paycheck for Season 7). Filming on the new installment is scheduled to start this Monday, October 12.

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