Bethenny Frankel has said that although she “could do the job” of New York City mayor, she has no plans to pursue politics.
But if Frankel were to build her own Mount Rushmore — a Mount Rushmore of Housewives — we now know who she’d choose.
On Wednesday’s episode of her new podcast ReWives with Bethenny Frankel, the former Real Housewives of New York star, 52, revealed her unexpected first pick: RHONJ’s Teresa Giudice.
Giudice, 50, has starred on the Real Housewives of New Jersey since it premiered in 2009. Frankel was an original cast member of RHONY and has been an on-and-off presence through most of the show’s run. In 2019, just before filming Season 12, Frankel unexpectedly quit the series for good.
On the podcast Wednesday, Frankel revealed that she and Giudice have met a couple of times in the past and exchanged Instagram messages but don’t really know each other.
Still, the two have occasionally come into conflict.
From ‘bad blood’ to ‘best of the best’
On her podcast, Frankel recalled that pre-social media, in the days of Bravo’s Real Housewives live blogs, she often wrote about other franchises, including RHONJ — and, for no reason, in particular, had sometimes fired shots at Giudice.
“I said things about her,” Frankel recalled, even though the women didn’t know each other.
“She was a human being that lived in the state next to mine,” Frankel remembered, “and I just was saying whatever the hell I thought about her episodes.”
Back then, the Skinnygirl founder added, “We were so politically incorrect… We were blogging.”
RHONY star Bethenny Frankel on RHONJ star Teresa Giudice: ‘She still brings it’
These “blog battles” made it “semi-awkward,” Frankel said when she would later run into Giudice at Bravo events.
“They’re always getting you to fire random shots,” the star vented, “and then putting you next to these people.”
Still, the former RHONY star turned podcast host said she had no bad feelings toward Giudice, adding, “I kind of always liked her from afar.”
Frankel went on to say that she admires Giudice because through all the highs and lows — including two marriages, various scandals over the years, and an eleven-month prison sentence — Giudice has stayed true to herself.
“She’s still Teresa Giudice from Jersey,” Frankel said, adding, “After all these years, she still brings it.”
As for her Mount Rushmore, Frankel concluded, Giudice “deserves to be there.”