Bethenny Frankel says she would return to the Real Housewives franchise for a $1 million payday.
Speaking to E! News about her relationship with Paul Bernon, the former Real Housewives of New York City star also dished on what it would take for her to return to the Bravo franchise: money.
“Money—an astronomical amount of money to do that,” she told the news outlet on July 24. “Probably like a million dollars for Ultimate Girls Trip.”
Calling out Bravo
As previously reported, Bethenny Frankel has been making headlines after calling out Bravo and Peacock during the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.
In a video posted to her Instagram on July 19, Bethenny revealed that she has “never made a single residual,” adding “either I’m missing something, or we’re getting screwed too” in reference to the ongoing strike.
She continued, “Anyone shooting a Bravo show should not be shooting until they get paid residuals for all the other episodes that they’ve ever done, or those episodes should be taken down. Reality stars should go on strike.”
In her comments, Bethenny made it clear that she is sticking up for the lesser-paid reality stars and not the big ticket talent like she was on her show. “I am the exception, not the rule. Me making money is because I’m extremely smart and knew what I was dealing with and grew up at the racetrack. This is not designed for me because I have more than I could ever want,” she said. “This is for the girl who gets paid $7,250 In her first season and said something she regrets that she has to watch on television and on T-shirts and on YouTube for the rest of her natural-born life and make no money on it.”
Bethenny has subsequently revealed that neither Bravo or Andy Cohen have reached out to her about residuals but she isn’t the only former Bravolebrity making waves for talking about being underpaid while on the network.
NeNe Leakes sat down for an explosive two-part interview with Love & Marriage franchise creator Carlos King, revealing that she was only paid $10,000 for the first season of The Real Housewives of Atlanta.
RHUGT: RHONY Legacy
Bethenny Frankel’s comments about returning to The Real Housewives are interesting considering she was probably offered a spot on Peacock’s recently-filmed Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy which is set to feature her former co-stars Ramona Singer, Luann de Lesseps, Sonja Morgan, Dorinda Medley, Kelly Bensimon, and Kristen Taekman.
While Bethenny did not sign on for the one-week spinoff, Jill Zarin infamously mentioned after negotiations fell through on the rumoured Legacy show that other Housewives would have signed on to the show for more money and less filming time.
“I think it should be done as Ultimate Girls Trip, I think it should be like a two week trip where the girls go together, I even think they could reach out to some people that they think wouldn’t come on because for a week or two and a good paycheque, I think they would come on,” Jill told Jeff Lewis on a March episode of his radio show. “I’m not naming names,” she added, before mouthing Bethenny’s name.
