Kelly Bensimon is making it clear that she has no interest in seeing Bethenny Frankel join The Golden Life, and not all of her castmates agree.
The former Real Housewives of New York City stars recently sat down with Danny Murphy and Evan Real on SiriusXM’s Page Six Radio to discuss their upcoming E! reality series, which reunites Kelly, Ramona Singer, Sonja Morgan, Luann de Lesseps and Dorinda Medley.
While the ladies are preparing for their new chapter in Palm Beach, one familiar RHONY name continues to come up: Bethenny Frankel.
Bethenny has been teasing the possibility of joining the show on TikTok, leaving fans wondering whether the former Housewife could eventually make an appearance.
But Kelly quickly shut down that idea.
When Danny Murphy mentioned Bethenny teasing fans about potentially joining the series, Kelly immediately responded, “No, no, no. She’s not invited. No, no. We can’t do that.”
When asked why Bethenny was not invited, several of the women jumped in with their own explanations.
Sonja insisted Bethenny had no interest in participating, while Ramona pointed out that Bethenny has a busy schedule.
“I’m friends with Bethenny. Number one, she’s too busy to come,” Ramona explained.
Kelly, however, had a very different take.
“No, no. She’s too performative,” Kelly said.
And she did not stop there.
“She’s not like a real reality star. She’s just very sensationalistic, and like, I don’t want to be on a show where someone is sensationalist,” Kelly added.
The comments are particularly interesting considering Kelly and Bethenny’s complicated history on RHONY.
The two famously clashed during their time on the Bravo series, particularly during the unforgettable Season 3 cast trip to St. John, which became known among Housewives fans as “Scary Island.”
Their relationship was one of the most contentious dynamics of the original RHONY era, with Kelly frequently questioning Bethenny’s behavior and the two struggling to find common ground.
More than a decade later, it appears Kelly still has strong opinions about her former costar.
However, the rest of the cast did not seem nearly as opposed to Bethenny making an appearance.
Dorinda admitted, “I’d love for her to come back.”
Ramona then revealed that she had actually extended an invitation to Bethenny.
“Well, I invited her to come on, just so you know, as a guest,” Ramona said.
Sonja reiterated that Bethenny did not want to participate.
Kelly responded to Ramona’s invitation by saying, “That’s nice of you. You guys can do that. Go forth and prosper.”
Ramona also suggested that Bethenny would not be interested in returning without compensation.
“And she would go, ‘Why come on as a guest? When I come on I want to be paid,’” Ramona claimed.
The exchange made it clear that while Kelly may not want Bethenny anywhere near The Golden Life, the women are not necessarily united on that front.
How The Golden Life Came Together After RHONY
The cast also opened up about how their new reality series became a reality after years of uncertainty about their futures with Bravo.
Sonja revealed that she and Luann had been discussing ways to reunite long before the E! series was officially developed.
“Luann and I for years, we were meeting, we were doing all these Zooms and pitching concepts and making up storyboards and all that,” Sonja explained.
She added that another person, who was not present for the interview, eventually helped connect them with people who could move the project forward.
Luann admitted she was initially hesitant to join because of her longstanding relationship with Bravo.
“When they called me, I was like, ‘No, no,’” Luann recalled.
She explained that she was still working with Bravo on Ultimate Girls Trip and considered the network family.
“Bravo is my family,” Luann said, adding that she eventually received permission from Bravo to participate in the E! project.
Ramona admitted she was not initially interested in returning to reality television either.
“I didn’t want to do it either,” Ramona said. “I said, ‘I’ll just do it, be a friend.’”
That changed once she saw the direction of the new series.
“When I did the Zoom and when we did the sizzle reel, I go, ‘Oh my god, this is so uplifting and positive and funny. I’m in. I’m all in,’” she explained.
Sonja also had reservations because her life had changed significantly since her RHONY days.
Now an empty nester with a daughter living in Los Angeles, Sonja no longer felt tied to New York in the same way.
But producers explained that the show would be based in Palm Beach, where many New Yorkers spend time.
Kelly said she was particularly drawn to the show’s different filming style.
Rather than following the traditional Housewives formula, Kelly described The Golden Life as more of a documentary-style reality series, compared with what she called Bravo’s “docu-soap” format.
Sonja also pointed out that the new series allows the women to break the fourth wall and speak directly to the cameras.
Dorinda Admits The Women Realized Bravo Wasn’t Bringing Them Back
Perhaps one of the most revealing moments came when Dorinda explained why the cast ultimately decided to move forward with E!.
According to Dorinda, she and Luann realized during the last BravoCon that another Bravo opportunity was unlikely.
“We really realized that we, Luann and I, really realized we weren’t going to be asked back to Bravo,” Dorinda said.
She emphasized that the women remain grateful for their history with the network.
“As loyal as we are, and we love Bravo and we had this beautiful run, we just were like, ‘You know what? Let’s take a chance and do this.’”
Dorinda added, “When E! gave us the opportunity, we thought, ‘Why not?’”
The new series gives five original-era RHONY personalities another opportunity to share their lives, friendships and disagreements with viewers after Bravo moved in a different direction with the New York franchise.
As for Bethenny, her potential involvement remains a point of disagreement among her former castmates.
Ramona has invited her, Dorinda would welcome her, and Sonja believes she has no interest in joining.
