Bethenny Frankel: I Knew I’d Get My Own Show

Former Real Housewives of New York star Bethenny Frankel had a plan to get her own reality show from the very beginning. So when Jill Zarin introduced Bethenny to the producers at Bravo and they asked her to join the cast of RHONY, Bethenny saw this as the opportunity that she needed. “It was definitely a plan,” Bethenny told Hollywood Life exclusively. “It was definitely something I knew was going to happen. I could see it.”

So when Bethenny joined the cast, she made it a point to “separate from the pack” as she puts it in her new book, A Place of Yes: 10 Rules for Getting Everything You Want Out of Life. “I separated in a sense that Season One — everybody was being frivolous,” Bethenny explains to us. “I was just trying to build a career and I was already working on all the projects.”

“Bravo is very much a network that is known for and relishes big drama, diamonds, glam, money and luxury,” Bethenny says. “I was not that. I had no money, I lived in 700 square-foot apartment. I had no idea what was going on in my life emotionally or career-wise. I separated in the sense that I wasn’t going to pretend I was somebody I wasn’t. I had to separate from the pack and be truthful.”

And when Bethenny found out she was getting her own show, not one of her fellow cast members — Ramona Singer, Alex McCord, Jill, Countess LuAnn de Lesseps or Kelly Bensimon — congratulated her. Were they jealous?

Now, Bethenny’s in the second season of her own show Bethenny Ever After — and she’s happier than ever that she’s no longer a housewife. “I don’t regret not being on that show at all,” she tells us. “I don’t miss a minute of it.”

In Bethenny Ever After, “no one is doing anything violent or outlandish for television,” Bethenny says. “I just love the natural way about this show because it’s true.”

Credit: Hollywood Life (Lindsey DiMattina)

Bethenny Frankel: "A Place Of Yes" Book Signing

Bethenny Frankel signs copies of "A Place Of Yes: 10 Rules For Getting Everything You Want Out Of Life" at Barnes & Noble Union Square on March 22, 2011 in New York, New York.

Credit: Wire Image

Bethenny Frankel Wants Her Own Talk Show

Bethenny Frankel is quite the businesswoman. She's a natural-food chef, New York Times best-selling author and reality TV star -- just to name a few -- with a mile-long resume to prove she's not messing around when it comes to success.

Although she's found a home in the reality TV circuit as a former Real Housewives of New York star, she's looking to bring her brand to daytime television.

"I would like a daytime talk show because my conversation with my fans right now is through social networking, and my TV show communicates what I'm doing, but it isn't really a dialogue or a conversation," she told PopEater at the British Airways Face To Face event in New York. And she's pretty hopeful it will happen. "Most of my business wishes come true."

Congrats on the second season of your Bravo show. Any juicy details?
Bethenny Ever After starts Feb. 28. It's about the texture of marriage and bringing together Venus and Mars, which is what my husband and I are. We're from two different planets. And he's religious, and I practice yoga. He wants to be around his parents all the time, and I like to be alone and just a lot of crazy things. It's really probably the only real reality show. It's a reality sitcom.

And you're also doing a Skinnygirl tour as well?
Yeah. It's me on a huge Skinnygirl tour bus, and my entire family comes with me. I speak for two hours, to primarily women, about everything from body image issues, weight issues and my first book, 'Naturally Thin.' I discuss those things, gossip a little bit and then do a Q&A, and then I do it all over again the next day. It is exhausting and draining, but I would say it is the most gratifying of everything I do.

Why is this the most gratifying thing you've done?
Because you get to speak to women. You're talking to college girls who are developing their identity, whether they want to be wives for a living, whether they want to be businesswomen, who they want to be, how they want to proceed and move on into the world. You're talking to women who have lost their husbands and want to talk about it to other women, people who are obsessed with dieting, people who have eating disorders. You're just talking to women about everything from breastfeeding to dieting to dating to gossip.

You also have a new book coming out. Can you tell me about it?
My new book is coming out March 22. 'A Place of Yes' is about how I got to where I am in my life now, in career and in family and the 10 rules to getting there.

Credit: Jane Levere for Pop Eater

Bethenny Frankel: A Place Of Yes

Confidence, a fierce tell-it-like-it-is attitude, and Skinnygirl Margaritas are a few of the reasons why we love Bethenny Frankel. The Real Housewives star has proven herself one business-savvy diva over the past few years, building a health and fitness empire surrounding her name. This March, Bethenny is set to release her fourth book, A Place of Yes.

A Place of Yes comes at a time of inner peace for the TV personality. With a booming career, husband, and new baby in tow, it seems she has it all…but her journey to success wasn’t easy. Bethenny has spoken openly about failed relationships, money struggles and family issues in the past, and now she is opening up to the public to share how she overcame so many obstacles to achieve her goals.

Bethenny has found her place of Yes in her personal life through self-discovery and by creating her own set of rules for success. The set of ten rules are meant to inspire readers to break out of their comfort zones and get exactly what they want out of life. Whether it be better work/life balance, career ambitions, or self-fulfillment, A Place of Yes has little bits of wisdom to help every reader achieve the happiness they deserve.

The ten rules have all the sensibility and wit you’d expect from Bethenny. She urges readers to find their truth and act on it – some serious reflection may be necessary, but finding out what is real for you is the first step in achieving a stable state of Yes. The queen of branding also includes a bit of her own shrewd business advice: treat everything like it’s a business, you never know what opportunities can pop up. Most importantly, Bethenny wants readers to own it! Take credit for your thoughts and actions, accept your flaws and love who you are.

Complete happiness may seem idealistic, but it can be a reality when you come from a place of Yes. A Place of Yes hardcover and audio book will be available in stores and online on March 22nd.

Credit: Amanda Huggins for Pierce Mattie PR