Features

By Jonathan Soroff

Soroff On: Bethenny Frankel
The reality TV star and margarita mogul talks about babies, body fat and saying yes.

So now that you’re Queen of All Media, do you have anything to say to Howard Stern?
Well, his ex-wife lives in my old house. We sold it to them.

If someone doesn’t recognize you, how do you identify yourself—entrepreneur, TV star, author, chef?
Businesswoman.

Do you think prison softened Martha Stewart?
I do not think prison softened her. No.

You’re never shown exercising on your show. How come you look so good? Is there a workout regimen you’re hiding from us?
No. I walk around. We do a lot of things outdoors. I do the elliptical machine. I do that probably two, three times a week while watching Gossip Girl or reality television for 30 minutes. But consistency is the key. If you’re consistently exercising your whole life, you don’t ever have to do boot camp or spinning or anything psychotic.

How does it feel to be part of an acronym: RHONY?
Well, I’m no longer part of that acronym. Now I’m part of BEA: Bethenny Ever After. I love it. I love lingo. It’s so familiar to people that they now give it a nickname.

Will you ever talk to Jill again?
Um… I’m sure I’ll run into her and say hello. I wouldn’t not say hello.

If I showed up at your house unannounced, what would you make me to eat?
Who said I’d make you something to eat? I might make you a drink. I’d probably pour you a Skinnygirl margarita. That would probably be the most exciting for you. And maybe I’d put out some whole wheat tortilla chips and guacamole, or cheese and salami or bresaola, marcona almonds. I’d make something look impressive that wasn’t, and it wouldn’t take a long time.

You always leave something on your plate. How do you eat just half a hot dog?
Maybe I would eat three-quarters of a hotdog and just leave a bite, just for the sake of knowing that I’ve left something, because part of my philosophy is that you should never eat everything. But I don’t think [someone] could stop at half a hot dog. I think it would need to be more like four-fifths.

So what part of having a camera trained on you 24/7 seemed like a good idea to you?
It’s not 24/7, and there’s no part of it that isn’t annoying. The only part that isn’t annoying is when we go to restaurants I haven’t been to before, or to a premiere.

Isn’t this whole thing astonishingly narcissistic?
Maybe it’s narcissistic. I have no idea. But it’s not like I gave myself my own show. Bravo gave it to me. So maybe it’s just delusional.

Can I be your new BFF?
My new Bethenny Frankel Fan, to use another acronym? Sure.

Favorite seduction dish to make for your husband?
I don’t have any particular dishes. The fact that I cook should be seduction enough. And I cook a lot, every night.

How about the criticism that you’re promoting an unrealistic body image?
No one criticizes me about that. Skinnygirl’s not about weight. It’s about being healthy and fun and flirty and the life of the party, and feeling good about yourself. But you can be anywhere from a size 2 to a size 12.

Is it true that nothing tastes as good as skinny feels?
No. Skinny feels unhealthy. I don’t think skinny is a good thing to promote, and I don’t.

So are you intent on total world domination?
No. I don’t think like that.

What do you do to make your husband not feel like Mr. Bethenny Frankel?
I married someone who’s a really secure person, so I don’t think he’d ever feel that way. 

Did you win anything on the Kentucky Derby?
I didn’t bet, and I didn’t even know it was going on because it was the same day as my daughter’s first birthday. So I wasn’t even paying attention. I don’t even know who was in it.

Did you ever go to Marylou Whitney’s ball in Saratoga growing up?
No. I wasn’t part of the fancy part of the racetrack. I was a hot walker in the morning and hung out at the barn on the back side.

So how much of the supposed $120 million you got for Skinnygirl did you actually get to keep?
I don’t talk about money with strangers.

You worked as a PA on the show Saved By the Bell. How much nookie do you think went on behind the scenes?
I heard a lot, or a good amount, but I wasn’t part of any of that.

Did you ever see Screech’s porn video?
Aaaah, no. [Laughs.]

Was Skating With the Stars the hardest physical thing you’ve ever done?
Yes, it was. That and The Apprentice.

Physically or mentally?
They’re both excruciating torture. Just unhealthy and unnatural and not something that anyone should have to endure.

What was the hardest part?
With Skating, I had a new baby, I was traveling back and forth across the country-—while shooting my own television show, while negotiating the sale of my company, while being a brand-new newlywed. I was 40 years old, doing an abnormal amount of physical activity, every single day. It was brutal. And the mental competitiveness—I wanted to give up because I hated it, but I’m too tenacious, so I just had to keep doing it. And it was sheer torture. I didn’t sleep at all. The Apprentice is a sleep-deprivation experiment during which you have to do very sharp mental tasks.

In reality, do you think of yourself as a star?
No. I think of myself as a smart business-person.

What do you always keep in your fridge?
Skinnygirl margaritas, Parmesan cheese, pureed baby-foods for Bryn and soy milk.

How do you stay thin with a kid around?
I don’t know how anyone could not be thin with a baby. It always takes precedence—they want to eat and you come second. It’s exhausting.

Did anybody say they hated you for snapping back to a size 4 within moments of giving birth?
No. They love me because I explain how it’s possible. That you don’t binge while pregnant, nor before, and that if you’re always consistent about health, it doesn’t have to be some fire drill to lose weight.

What’s the one thing you want readers to take away from your book, A Place of Yes?
That anything is possible. That my life was filled with nos. But I had to stand up for what I believed. People told me that doing The Real Housewives was a terrible idea. People told me that Skinnygirl would never work. You will be told no, and you’re ultimately alone to make decisions. And don’t ever believe anyone’s smarter than you, no matter what their job title is, or what their bank account says. It’s all up to you, and anything’s possible. All roads lead to Rome.

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Bethenny’s Boston’s Best

Place to sip a Skinnygirl Margarita: Cactus Club, the Border Cafe or the Barking Crab

Restaurant: Clio

Place for a family-friendly vacation: Cliffside Beach Club and Hotel, on Nantucket

Beach: “Berklee Beach, ha-ha.”

Time to visit: Fall

Place for an outdoor workout: Rollerblading on the Esplanade

Hotel: The Four Seasons

Memory from Boston University: “Spilling a whole tray of sex on the beach shots while cocktail waitressing at M-80, Seth Greenberg’s first nightclub.”