Bethenny Frankel says her baby saved her from a volatile past

people

When I look at “Real Housewives of NY” reality star Bethenny Frankel, the words “maternal instinct” don’t necessarily come to mind. But Frankel gave an interview to People magazine saying that she is all about her new baby girl. She also revealed that her own childhood wasn’t so great, and her mom wasn’t much of a role model – which kind of explains a lot.

As a first-time mom, Bethenny Frankel is happily focused on pampering her new baby, 8-week-old Bryn. But the reality TV star says her own childhood was far less loving.

“I never had a true childhood,” Frankel, 39 – the only child of legendary horse trainer Bobby Frankel and his first wife, Bernadette – tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story. “There was a lot of destruction: alcohol abuse, eating disorders and violent fights.”

The Real Housewives star – whose new Bravo reality series, Bethenny Getting Married? chronicles her whirlwind romance with businessman Jason Hoppy and the birth of Bryn – says she has long been estranged from her mom, whom she describes as “extremely volatile. She was never a mother to me.”

Now, Frankel says she is grateful for the chance to create a stable home with Hoppy and their daughter: “I live for this baby.”

[From People]

Here’s hoping that Bethenny stays focused on her daughter even after the newness wears off. When someone is as self-absorbed as she appears to be, putting an infant’s needs first can get old pretty quickly. But it sounds like she is determined to give little Bryn a better life than she had, and that’s always a good start.

Former Real Housewives Of NYC star Bethenny Frankel attends the 41st Annual Gay Pride Parade in New York City, New York on June 27, 2010. Fame Pictures, Inc

Former Real Housewives Of NYC star Bethenny Frankel attends the 41st Annual Gay Pride Parade in New York City, New York on June 27, 2010. Fame Pictures, Inc

June 17, 2010 - New York, New York, U.S. - BETHENNY FRANKEL at the Pampers with Dry Max ''Dads on Diaper Duty'' event at The Level at Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City on 06-17-2010.  2010..K65198JBB. © Red Carpet Pictures

People cover courtesy of Coverawards.

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27 Responses to “Bethenny Frankel says her baby saved her from a volatile past”

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  1. LOVE ANGELINA says:

    I love Bethenny and I remember a few seasons ago on The Real Housewives she didn’t even think she could have a baby, a family, and a career. Jill didn’t even have the decency to tell her she could have all that but I still like Jill, but she just told her she should marry a gay guy and have a baby. Really? Why are people so Anti-optimistic? Anyway Bethenny is gonna give her baby all the love in the world because she never got it herself. Her stories about her fam made me soooo sad. I know Beth will be a good mom.

  2. Sumodo1 says:

    If I were Bethenny’s mother, I’d be suing BIG TIME. Bethenny continues to drag Bonnie Frankel through the mud. I would hate to be her. Bonnie–get legal help!

  3. Cinderella says:

    I think Bethenny is funny, but the more I watch her, the more it becomes obvious she is all about her career. I hope she can balance it wisely with her new family.

  4. honey love says:

    if the mother did the dirt than pay for it. if bonnie thinks to bring a case then i bet bethenny has ample proof that bonnie was unfit. as for bethenny character as a mother — i know this i not a toy. THIS IS HER BABY!! If you watch the show Bethenny loves hard so this is not a game to her. I am disgusted that anyone would say that she seems “self-absorbed”. INCORRECT!! Watch the show and you will know that Bethenny is giving, kind and a great friend to the end. i would like to include her in my friends.

  5. original kate says:

    that is one cute baby.

  6. Fluffy Kitten Tail says:

    Bethanny has the scariest face ever. It is worthy of being a Halloween mask!

  7. Captaine says:

    I miss when REAL celebrities were in the news line ups. It’s just too fuckin easy nowdays to be “famous”.

    And dat bitch’s face looks like some shit off of Lord of the Rings.

  8. amanda says:

    Really tired of Bethanny. Her face is not one made for the cameras and her story is getting old, real old. I get it, I get it- she had a tough childhood (although she was raised in a privledged lifestyle and was afforded luxuries many children could never dream of). I get it, she has worked hard at her career (haven’t a LOT of people? But they don’t all keep throwing it in our faces). I feel like with People magazine, they alternate between cover stories on Bethanny Frankel and Kate Gosselin. Both of them I could care less about.

  9. Monique says:

    The baby is very tiny is she a premie? She’s still a cutie pie.Take time out and enjoy your baby and husband. ENOUGH ALREADY ABOUT YOUR MOTHER

  10. Mrs Odie 2 says:

    Why does she look SO OLD? When I saw her picture, I thought, “What is she? 50?” Is it because she had plastic surgery too young, which ironically ages you? She’s only a year older than me and I think I look younger (you can look at my word press blog and see if you agree). I’ve never seen any of the Real Housewives series. I don’t get it. To me, a “housewife” is someone who is married and stays home to cook, clean, and raise children(if there are any). Some of the women are unmarried? They have jobs? They have maids and nannies and cooks? Then how are they housewives?

  11. Monica says:

    I’m with Amanda,her story is getting old fast enough get on with your life and stop with the all of the complaining.Enjoy your new family it could be worst.

  12. guesty says:

    sounds like she’s made up her mind to be the mom to bryn that she never had. so good for her.

  13. Laurie says:

    She is boring me already. It is not an amazing feat of humankind to be a mom. How long before “having it all” implodes and she is back on the cover of People?

  14. kim says:

    Please Bethanny no more surgeries. Her surgeon needs to be fired. This is the worst implants breast and cheek, etc i have ever seen. She really & truly looks like the Joker. But she seems nice enough and i wish her the best with her husband and baby.

  15. Ellie says:

    why so serious?

  16. suede says:

    @Sumodo1

    Bonny Frankel is dead.

  17. Mary Jones says:

    Poor little rich girl. Boo whoo wahh i had a bad childhood. I don’t feel sorry for her there are many people who’ve had it way worse. Hope that baby doesn’t get her skeletor face and jaw line.

  18. cowbell says:

    Bonnie isn’t dead. Bobby Frankel is though.

  19. coucou says:

    Say what you will, i gotta hand it to her, she is a strong woman with a heart of gold. She got my total respect when i saw how she responded to Kelly’s show-down at the Brass Monkey, when Kelly tried to tell her that they would “never be friends,” and that she was “up here” while Bethenny was “down there…” Bethenny was amazing, she just kept her cool and stared her straight in the face until Kelly lost it, as usual.

    As for shite childhoods, i feel for her, been there, she and i could be sisters. I would like to be as strong and determined as she is. She is one of my favorites on the show, because she seems pretty grounded, especially around all the other wackadoos, like when Ramona was referring to her as the “under dog.” What a bitch! Bethenny took that one well, too.

    I also love Bethenny’s self-depracating humor. Like when she once referred to herself as a “born-again virgin.”

    As for all the comments about her face and external appearance, geez people, get a life. It just shows how superficial all of y’all are. Those shots are not professional studio shots, and therefore she looks like a normal person, oh dear, GOD FORBID. I am just so damn sick of the rampant ageism, but hey, getting old is just a way of life, and it comes to everyone eventually, if they live long enough.

    Go Bethenny! Can’t wait to see your new show! I think i will like it a hell of a lot better than that Holly’s World crap, or Kimora – i have never once watched her show and never will, ick.

  20. Kiska says:

    Cheek implants gone wrong!

  21. geraldo says:

    She looks very soft and pretty in her portrait on the People cover. Cute baby, too.

  22. Confuzzle says:

    I’ve never seen the show but that last photo just screams OMG LOOK AT ME PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO MEEEEEE. Crazy person.

  23. Tess says:

    I like Bethenny. She’s very entertaining, quick, and funny. The baby’s adorable.

    If she had a wise and loving mother helping to keep her grounded in the midst of the whirlwind her life is, her mother’s advice would probably be for Bethenny not to lose sight of what really matters in the long run.

    That includes focussing not only on her own need for success, love and acceptance, not just her baby, who seems like a perfect little reflection of herself, but also on her husband’s needs.

    If their relationship is on the level, she needs to slow down, turn off the cameras, and give their relationship as a family some time to develop.

  24. Heaven-bound says:

    @ Fluffy Kitten Tail- That was hilarious, Ha ha
    I have always thought she resembles the Joker.

  25. Peanut says:

    My husband told me he “wanted to be a better Dad then his Dad ever was”. Then he up and left me when our daughter was only 11 months old. What do you know… just like his Dad did.

    I don’t buy the whole “parenthood is fulfilling because I have a chance to be better than my parent(s)” routine.

  26. MrsOdie2 says:

    I agree, Peanut. People who had abusive and neglectful parents are usually the same with their own kids without some intensive therapy.

  27. Katie says:

    I used to really like Bethanny, but the more I watch her, the more I see a direct relation to the way she talks to her hubby – as the way Kate Gosselin talked to her hubsand . . . Bethanny is getting more and more rude in the way she speaks to everyone. And what really gets me, is that Bethanny seems to think she’s ‘special’ because of her mood disorders – so that somehow makes it OK to speak the way she does. As her child gets older – it’s really not going to be good for that little girl to hear the way her Mom speaks to her Dad.

    Bethany is way more obesessive than Kate – and I thought she was bad . . . am I the only one that sees this?