Photo: Bethenny Frankel/Instagram
Bethenny's parenting was the subject of criticism on 'RHONY,' & now fans are coming after her too.
By John Sundholm — Written on Dec 12, 2022
Former "Real Housewives of New York" star Bethenny Frankel is certainly no stranger to controversy.
She was frequently at the center of RHONY's drama, especially with former castmates Ramona Singer and Luann de Lesseps, and has had her share of public celebrity spats as well.
The former chef and Skinnygirl founder has picked fights with everyone from TikTok creators to Meghan Markle—and even battled fellow Bravo celebrities Andy Cohen and Jeff Lewis on live television recently.
But in recent days, it's not her celebrity feuds or thirst to monetize her 'RHONY' drama, but rather her parenting choices that have fans angry.
After Frankel treated her 12-year-old daughter Bryn more like a girlfriend than a daughter in a recent Instagram post, fans were quick to call her out for what they saw as her inappropriate parental boundaries.
Bethenny Frankel calls her daughter her "best friend."
Like many stars, Frankel attended New York radio station Z100's annual iHeart Radio Jingle Ball, bringing her daughter Bryn, whom she shares with ex-husband Jason Hoppy, as her plus one.
Frankel posted several photos of herself and her daughter on the red carpet of the event, along with a caption that read:
"My date to #jingleball is my girl and MY BEST FRIEND in the whole world."
Using her nickname for her daughter, she went on to write that she, "never [has] a spring in my step like when I’m with my favorite date, the Peanut."
Fans felt Frankel's "best friend" comment was inappropriate.
Fan quickly took to Frankel's comments to call out what they saw as bad parenting and a lack of appropriate parent/child boundaries.
One wrote, "as a mother, it has always been weird to me when another mother says their child is their best friend," adding that "they are kids and there should always be a line between parent and child."
Others criticized Frankel for putting "so much pressure on [her] kid" and accused her of "projecting [her] neediness & securities" onto Bryn instead of giving her "a normal childhood with best friends her own age."
Another was more succinct and to the point: "Please don't be her best friend.....be her mom."
Frankel, well known on social media for her defensiveness, seemed to have anticipated the backlash, writing in her caption, "let haters be motivators & surround yourself with those who let you be YOU!!!"
Fans called this out too, with one writing, "stop calling people haters when they just disagree."
Frankel's "Real Housewives of New York" co-stars frequently criticized her parenting on air.
Not everyone was critical of Frankel's caption.
Many fans found the post to be a sweet tribute to a close mother-daughter relationship, including former fellow 'RHONY' star Sonja Morgan, who wrote, "you and Peanut are so sweet together."
Which is interesting considering how much Morgan and her co-stars often had to say about Frankel's parenting during their time on 'RHONY.'
Morgan once called out Frankel's own troubled childhood—Frankel has been estranged from her parents, Robert Frankel and Bernadette Birk, for most of her life—accusing her of "projecting" her traumas onto others.
Bethenny and co-star Luann de Lesseps tussled about her parenting choices too, when de Lesseps accused Frankel of not being able to be a supportive friend because she is too attached to her daughter.
And in one of RHONY's most infamous scenes, former star Ramona Singer once used Frankel's daughter to slut-shame her for having appeared topless in a film, asking Frankel to account for how her past work makes Bryn feel.
The interaction even spawned one of RHONY's most iconic catchphrases, "mention it all."
Parenting is a deeply private matter, and it's nearly impossible to tell what kind of a parent someone is from an Instagram caption—not that it's anyone's business anyway.
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice and human interest topics.