Heavy/Getty Bethenny Frankel and Jill Zarin
Bethenny Frankel and Jill Zarin reunited on July 17 to record an episode for Frankel’s podcast “ReWives” and the two “Real Housewives of New York City” alums hashed out a lot of their past highs and lows, including their huge fallout over Frankel’s presence with RHONY cameras at Zarin’s late husband Bobby Zarin’s funeral in 2018.
Zarin and Frankel’s reunion was the “first time one on one since 2010,” the Skinnygirl founder pointed out in her Instagram caption, and just under an hour into the unfiltered conversation, the topic of Bobby Zarin’s funeral came up. Frankel explained that attending the funeral with cameras was producer Andy Cohen’s suggestion and she was told that Zarin was on board with it, while Zarin claimed that she had no idea.
“Andy Cohen texts me or calls me,” Frankel began. “I’m in a nail salon in Aspen, [Colorado]. [He] says Bobby passed away. I loved Bobby.” Frankel added, “Then he said, ‘Jill said you can bring the cameras to the funeral,'” Frankel added. ‘That’s what he said to me.”
Zarin then asked, “If that was true, would they need a release from me? To get my voice on camera?” After Frankel confirmed that they would, Zarin pointed out, “Do they have one? I will tell you, they do not.” Zarin said she was eventually told by a producer, “They counted on you not suing.” Zarin said the fact that there was no release meant that she had no idea they were filming.
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Bethenny Frankel Said It Was ‘Disgusting’ What Happened & Apologized to Jill Zarin
The OG RHONY star told Frankel in the podcast appearance her “heart dropped” when she saw her at the funeral. “I couldn’t believe you were there,” she said. “And I was so happy. And I said oh my god… you were there. And I was so happy.”
Zarin confirmed that she saw cameras there but there were some from outlets like TMZ so she didn’t realize they were RHONY cameras. “I wasn’t on a mic,” she added. “You were on a mic. I didn’t know that.”
In addition to not knowing that they were filming, Zarin also claimed that she only found out about it when she saw the commercials for the season on TV and no one had called her about it. Although Zarin acknowledged that she might have said yes if she was asked about filming at her husband’s funeral, she wasn’t given the choice and was “taken advantage of.”
Frankel was blunt in her reaction to the revelation, telling Zarin, “What you’re saying is I f****** ambushed a funeral for reality television. That’s disgusting.”
“That’s literally the most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard,” she continued. “The whole thing is disgusting and it’s embarrassing… I apologize ’cause it was a spectacle and a circus,” she concluded.
Jill Zarin Called Out Bethenny Frankel in 2022 for Trying to Get ‘Publicity’ at Her Late Husband’s Funeral
Frankel and Zarin both joined RHONY for its first few seasons, though Frankel left after season 3 before returning for seasons 7 to 11. Zarin left after 4 seasons as a main cast member and later returned for seasons 9 to 12 as a guest star, including in season 10, which had the scenes of Bobby Zarin’s funeral. He died on January 13, 2018, after a battle with thyroid cancer, People reported.
In April 2022, Zarin accused Frankel of coming to the funeral with cameras for her own publicity. The OG Housewife told Page Six that Frankel showed up with cameras and that “changed” things for her. “Housewives came without cameras to pay their respects: Dorinda [Medley], Luann [de Lesseps], Ramona [Singer], all came [with] no makeup, no hair, you know, not glammed out,” she pointed out at the time.
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