Bethenny Frankel took aim at a scene Rachel Zoe filmed with her kids, Skyler, 14, and Kaius, 12, for The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in a TikTok video shared on Tuesday.
After Rachel, 54, was seen confirming to her sons that she had filed for divorce from their father, Rodger Berman, 57, and revealing that she was no longer in love, noting that it was important that they had an open line of communication, the 55-year-old Real Housewives of New York City alum discussed what she referred to as “the price of reality TV.”
“There is a scene from the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills with Rachel Zoe and her children that I just saw on this app,” Bethenny shared on March 10. “And it so crystallizes the potential damage that reality television can do and the price that you pay and the selling your soul to the devil that it is so jarring.”
Reflecting on her own divorce from Jason Hoppy, 55, the father of her 15-year-old daughter, Bryn Hoppy, Bethenny suspected producers had “provoked” Rachel into having the on-camera conversation.
“[It] was certainly provoked by producers like, ‘Talk to your kids about what it feels like to be going through this divorce,’” she said. “I remember the first season of housewives, being in a relationship with someone that we were [in a] very serious relationship, talking about moving in, but me having to say, ‘What’s going on? Are we moving in?’ just to give it to the audience. And then being like, ‘We’ll talk about it later,’ because he didn’t want to talk about it on-camera.”
“That was the price and the cost of being on the show,” she added.
Continuing on, Bethenny expressed concern for Rachel’s children.
“This is children that are not fully formed human beings, adolescents, teens, that a parent is saying, ‘How does it feel?’ And like, having that discussion, which is, why at an age and a stage? Unless you must do this for the paycheck or the fame or the promotion to some business, the price is great,” she explained. “The price of having to put your kids on television and ask them about a divorce is so gargantuan that it made me actually uncomfortable.”
“This is not a slight or a dig at anyone. It’s just like, watching this medium and knowing how it works, and the whiteboard and the beats that have to get hit, is f*cked up. It made me deeply uncomfortable,” she concluded.
Following the sharing of Bethenny’s video, Page Six received a statement from a source close to Rachel, who said, “Rachel is a mom first and foremost in her life and she speaks her children openly and consistently about the divorce. They are well-adjusted and happy.”
Another source, described as a business contact of Rachel’s, added, “Rachel has many successful businesses and investments, she certainly did not join the show because she ‘needs the paycheck.’”
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 15 airs Thursdays at 8/7c on Bravo.