It’s taken years, but Jill Zarin has admitted that she was wrong in her infamous feud with former The Real Housewives of New York City co-star Bethenny Frankel.
Fans will remember that during Season 3, the two engaged in a feud for the ages when a story was printed in the Daily News which painted Bethenny as a “frenemy” of Jill’s. And although Jill denied having planted the story, Bethenny was adamant that it was her desperate attempt at getting attention.
Ultimately, Bethenny accused Jill of being jealous of the success of her Skinnygirl brand, while Jill felt jilted and claimed Bethenny wasn’t there for her after her husband, Bobby, was diagnosed with cancer.
On an upcoming episode of the LadyGang podcast, Jill confesses that her own insecurities were behind the feud.
Jill says she felt “abandoned” by Bethenny
In the podcast episode, Jill admits that she felt “abandoned” by Bethenny and that led to her intense reaction.
“She moved on away from me and I was the girl who felt abandoned. I look back now and I was wrong,” she confesses. “I was wrong, I had no right to be angry that she was moving on.”
Jill continued, “I felt the way I felt, I can’t apologize for that. I felt that she was breaking up with me.”
It turns out that Bethenny’s then-boyfriend and would-be-husband also played a role in her insecurities, and she now sees that she should have listened to her late husband, Bobby’s advice
“I felt like she got a boyfriend, she got Jason, and she was leaving and didn’t want to bring me along for the ride. That was very clear, and I was very hurt by that. I think Bobby was right, which he always is, and he said, ‘What do you care, just let it go.’ But I was very locked into that, and I couldn’t see my way out,” she said.
Jill gives an update on where their friendship stands
“Now I see it differently and I can give advice on it, which is back off. Just back off and let her do her thing. When she comes around, she’s not your husband, she’s not the father of your children, she’s just another girlfriend in your life,” Jill explained.
As for where the women stand now, Jill admits, “It depends on how you qualify ‘friends’. We are definitely in a better place than we were five years ago.”
The Real Housewives of New York City is currently on hiatus on Bravo.