‘Real Housewives of New York City’: Was Bethenny Frankel ’embarrassed’ to be on board?

Believe it or not, but there was a time when Bethenny Frankel was not entirely pleased to be known as a “Real Housewife of New York City.” Instead, she wanted to be known as a spin-off star, an author, a talk-show host, or maybe even a business icon thanks to her Skinnygirl brand.

With her coming back aboard the show for the upcoming season premiering on Tuesday, April 9, the reality star is actually admitting now that she really was not that proud to be associated with the franchise that really allowed her to be famous in the first place. There’s a special edition of “Watch What happens Live!” featuring Bethenny airing on Sunday night at 10:30 p.m. Eastern time, and in the sneak peek below, you can see her saying the following about a perception that she had about herself at one point:

“There was a point when I was a little embarrassed to be a Housewife. I felt like it was a little something to not be proud of … There was a time when I was in it that it felt kind of not what I started out as, and that’s why I walked away.”

This is an interesting way for Bethenny to frame the answer, at least in that she is acting like the content of the show is what turned her off more than the idea of being known for the show itself; she now says that she is happy to be back.

We feel like to a certain extent, it is easy to pile on Bethenny at this point, given that her daytime TV aspiration did not work out. We’re not really going to do that, though, given that getting that gig is really an achievement in itself. We’re not always her biggest supporter, but we are interested in seeing if she helps to revitalize a version of the Bravo series in need of a spark or two.