Bethenny Frankel Announces Break From Podcast Following Mom’s Death

In the wake of her mother’s death, Bethenny Frankel is taking a step back from her podcast. 

In an Instagram Story posted late Tuesday evening, the former Real Housewives of New York star, 53, shared with her millions of followers that after careful consideration, she is pausing the Just B Divorced series and removing episodes. 

“I have chosen to temporarily remove my divorce podcast as a result of an overwhelming response and an influx of messages that have converged with the most significant loss of my life,” she wrote in her Instagram Story. 

The “overwhelming response” reference appears to stem from headlines on a recent episode of the audio series, in which she said that she was “relieved” when she miscarried a pregnancy with ex-husband Jason Hoppy and that she would “force” herself to have sex with Hoppy, 53, before their relationship ended in 2012.

“In a constructive way, I said, ‘I’m kind of relieved … because I don’t think this is a healthy or positive relationship,'” Frankel recalled telling Hoppy at the time during the now-deleted episode. “It was like the first step to saying something.”

In her statement on Tuesday, the Skinnygirl Cocktails creator responded to the backlash over her comments, saying that it was due to the way that her remarks were received during a time of grief that she would be disbanding the podcast temporarily.

“The unforeseen circumstances and the reaction to this triggering topic has confirmed how important this conversation is,” Frankel wrote. “In the coming weeks we will continue this dialogue to help you navigate your challenging divorce journeys.”

In conclusion, the RHONY alum told her fans that she is “grateful” for their support and love as she works through both the traumatic loss of her mother and reconciling with the social media recoil. 

Over the weekend, Frankel shared with her fans that her mother, Bernadette Birk — whom she had a contentious and complicated relationship with — died at age 73. The entrepreneur posted a series of photos and a caption devoted to their rollercoaster relationship over the years. 

In the post, she described her mom as a woman with beauty and intellect who also had demons of her own, including alcoholism, an eating disorder and self-destructive tendencies.

“Despite not being equipped to be a mother, she loved me and I have beautiful memories of her,” said Frankel. 

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