Television September 08, 2016
Bethenny Frankel Lashes Out at Luann de Lesseps: ‘I Would Have Grabbed Her by the Throat’
The feud between “The Real Housewives of New York City” stars Bethenny Frankel and Luann de Lesseps is going strong.
Bethenny stopped by “Watch What Happens Live” on Wednesday following part two of the dramatic “RHONY” reunion, where host Andy Cohen and guest Michael Rappaport grilled her about the ongoing battle.
Audiences watched the drama unfold in August when Frankel confronted the countess with photos of fiancé Tom D'Agostino Jr. making out with his ex at New York's Regency Hotel on the eve of his engagement party.
When Andy asked if there was anything the reality star didn't get to say to de Lesseps during the reunion, she answered, "I think her despicable and tragic behavior speaks for itself.”
The Skinnygirl mogul was still miffed that Luann accused her of dating Dennis Shields while they were both still married.
"When someone says that I'm cheating or that I'm with someone who's cheating and it could affect their whole family or flush through a whole press cycle, I'm not in that much of a good mood," she said.
Frankel added that she is no longer surprised by this kind of behavior from her castmate. "It's sort of just expected at this point — Luann's behavior being in the toilet bowl."
When Michael asked if she could ever see a fight breaking out between the two, Bethenny bluntly said, "I said to Andy, 'If I didn't have a business, I would have grabbed Luann by the throat.' I wouldn't have minded strangling her."
In her eyes, de Lesseps is trying to “shoot the messenger.”
"What did I really do?" she asked, referring to telling Luann about the tryst. "I didn't know what to do, and I would do it again."
In August, Luann told “Extra's” AJ Calloway that she and Tom have worked through the cheating scandal and still plan to wed.
“I was devastated, of course. I was totally shell-shocked. It was very upsetting. It's hard enough to deal with that in private let alone on the show, and so it was tough,” Luann said of seeing the photos of Tom and another woman. “Everybody thinks it's real time, it's happening now, but it actually happened six months ago.”
She continued, “Tom and I have worked through it. It's been difficult… I want everyone to know that we've gotten through it and we've decided that we really love each other and we've put it behind us.”
De Lesseps revealed why she chose to forgive and forget, saying, “I knew in my heart of hearts that Tom loves me… it was something really silly on his part and if he could take it back I know he would. I didn't let that incident change how I felt about him… it made us even stronger.” She added, “I feel I'm not going to let a kiss ruin our future. It wasn't an affair, it was a kiss — and I've chosen to forgive him.”