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Bethenny Frankel leaving ‘Real Housewives of New York’

CNN

August 22, 2019, 10:04 AM

It’s the end of an era as one of the original cast members of “The Real Housewives of New York” is bidding the show adieu.

Bethenny Frankel has announced she is leaving the Bravo reality series ahead of Season 12.

She joined the show when it debuted in 2008, left during the third season for her spinoff “Bethenny Getting Married” and rejoined the housewives for Season 7.

Her life was also featured in the shows “Bethenny Ever After” and “Bethenny & Fredrik.”

“It’s time to move on and focus on my daughter, my philanthropy and my production partnership with Mark Burnett, producing and starring in shows which represent a shift in the conversation for women,” she said in a statement to Variety. “With the changes in modern culture, I want to highlight the strength, confidence and unstoppable power that women have.”

Frankel called her experience with Bravo “an incredibly magical ride.”

“I am so grateful to them for highlighting my entrepreneurialism and allowing me to pave the way for many women to achieve their goals,” she said. “I am excited for my future. The best is yet to come.”

One of the most outspoken members of the cast, Frankel was pretty transparent with the cameras, allowing them to document everything from her contentious divorce from Jason Hoppy in 2016 to the more recent grief following the death of boyfriend Dennis Shields last year.

Her time on the show not only thrust her into the spotlight, but it also helped launch her Skinnygirl lifestyle brand and land a self-titled talk show which ran from 2013 to 214.

Frankel posted a note of thanks to her supporters on her official Instagram account Wednesday, writing “I am so grateful to you for sticking with me through everything. You started this journey with me in my tiny apartment in my late 30s, wondering what would happen to me. I was broke, single, had no family and no idea what the future held.”

“I had big dreams and I never stopped, but I honestly didn’t know if I would ever get here,” she wrote. “You helped me to get here.”

CNN has reached out to reps for Frankel and Bravo.

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