How Are Things Between Bethenny Frankel and Kelly Killoren Bensimon Today?
You're not going to believe how the #RHONY alum feels about the Skinnygirl mogul now.
To say that Bethenny Frankel and Kelly Killoren Bensimon didn't get along during their time on The Real Housewives of New York City is a big understatement. However, when Bethenny ran into Kelly at Beautique last season of RHONY, it looked more like two old friends reuniting than two former adversaries (clip above).
So has that goodwill between the RHONY entrepreneurs remained? "I don't have any animosity towards her," Kelly recently told The Daily Dish about where things stand with Bethenny these days.
Kelly said that she did not have a big beef with Bethenny as it may have seemed during her time on RHONY. She actually thinks the two have a lot in common. "We're both very hardworking, we were both single at the time, I had children, but we both have a very, very strong ethic and strong integrity. We just didn't click in those two scenes," Kelly said of her relationship with Bethenny on the show. "I feel sorry for the fanbase that they had to kind of see that."
Since her time on RHONY, Kelly has stayed close to Luann de Lesseps and Jill Zarin, who was especially supportive of her when she launched her new jewelry line with HSN last month. "She's just such a lovely woman, and she's been so incredibly supportive through everything," Kelly said. "She's a great cheerleader. She's such a great person. My kids love her. And, you know, kids have such an incredible radar, and they know when people are genuine and/or disingenuous. And Jill Zarin is such an incredible woman, mother, friend."
Though Kelly said she hasn't been keeping up with RHONY recently, she is a big fan of a fairly new addition to the show, Dorinda Medley. Kelly and Dorinda haven't shared the screen yet (Kelly's cameo last season was when Dorinda's boyfriend John Mahdessian appeared at Beautique without her), but the RHONY alum said they have run into each other in the past. "She is hilarious," Kelly said of Dorinda. "She's just such a great character. She's got so much enthusiasm."
Unlike some of Dorinda's castmates this season, Kelly only had nice things to say about John. "Her boyfriend is adorable. He could not be nicer. He is so sweet and so cute, and he's so adoring," she said. "That's what I want for women is I want them to have an adoring man next to them."
Since Kelly hasn't seen this season of RHONY, she couldn't comment on the criticism John has received from some of the ladies this season. "I can't speak to the show; I can speak to what I saw with my own two eyes, and I saw an adoring relationship and an amazing woman and an incredible man," Kelly explained. "I don't care what anyone else says; I care what I think, and I think that they are adorable."
It sounds like Kelly would find friends in Dorinda and John if she ever returned to RHONY, and she's not ruling out that possibility, especially now that she's returning to the limelight with her upcoming New York-set novel A Dangerous Age, which hits stores June 7. "I never say never," she told The Daily Dish about whether or not she would ever return to RHONY. "After people read A Dangerous Age, I think that there's going to be a lot of interest in my real life."
Though being a part of RHONY wasn't always easy for Kelly, she ultimately looks back on her time on the show fondly. "I had some really, really incredible times on Housewives," she said. "It was bittersweet for me. I had some really, really difficult moments, but I would say overall, like 90 percent of that show for me was really, really fun. And I got to meet Luann. And I got to be friends with Jill from it. I got a lot of great things out of it."
One of the not-so-great experiences for Kelly was the "Scary Island" vacay featured in Season 3 of RHONY. Watch Kelly and Bethenny recount what really happened during their big clash in interviews from the RHONY 100th episode special, below.
