Are Bethenny Frankel and Andy Cohen friends? RHONY alum addresses her camaraderie with Bravo host after she called Real Housewives “toxic”

Despite calling Real Housewives “toxic,” RHONY (The Real Housewives of New York) alum Bethenny Frankel is still friends with Andy Cohen. Cohen is the executive producer and host of Bravo's late night talk show, Watch What Happens Live!

Bethenny said she they two still enjoy long walks on the beaches, and talked about the Bravo franchise that made her a star. On Tuesday's episode of Today With Hoda & Jenna, she said:

“We totally are pals and we take beach walks and most of what we talk about on those walks is the Housewives, of this city, that city, this person, that person.”

The RHONY alum responded to comments Andy Cohen made on his Andy Cohen Live podcast where he said that Bethenny has been "trashing the series for the last few years" and calling it “toxic.”

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Andy Cohen is annoyed with RHONY alum Bethenny Frankel’s new podcast

Bethenny Frankel appeared on the Bravo show RHONY from 2008 to 2019 and shared her personal and professional journey with the world.

The reality star announced her departure from RHONY in August 2019 ahead of season 12. She left the Bravo franchise as she wanted to focus on her daughter, philanthropy work, and her production partnership with Mark Burnett.

Later, in April 2021, on Paris Hilton's podcast, This Is Paris, the reality star said that she left the show after it became "not who I [she] really was anymore." She added that she couldn't just do something out of fear.

However, in an interview she trashed the show and even announced that she was launching her Housewives rewatch podcast. The announcement did not sit well with Andy Cohen. Andy said on his podcast that he was surprised since the star had been trashing the show for as long as the past three years and spoke about how it was "toxic and it's every bad thing."

As she clarified her comments, the New York native said that she didn't "really trash" the show but that she felt that RHONY was toxic for her at the point. She said that she began thinking that it was a different show than what it was when it began. Bethenny added that the show evolved into something that was different, bigger, shinier and more dramatic than what they began with.

Bethenny further cleared the air that even though Andy was probably annoyed at her decision to start a Housewives rewatch podcast, there was no bad blood between them. She said that Andy was happy to see Bethenny embracing the Housewives.

Bethenny clarified that the pair’s friendship is a bit more complicated than most due to their similar business. She said:

“It’s just also that we are both also in this business and we are also friends and we also share ‘Housewives stuff’ where he was producing the show that I was on. So there’s all these different dynamics where I guess they overlap.”

The RHONY alum launched her ReWives podcast to comment on the series with unexpected thought leaders and celebrity friends, according to its description.

ReWives is available on the iHeartRadio app and anywhere podcasts are streamed. Most Real Housewives episodes can be watched on Peacock.

The Housewives star Bethenny can also be seen on the new CNBC show Money Court alongside Shark Tank star Kevin O'Leary, on November 30, 2022.