Dave Quinn’s highly anticipated book, Not All Diamonds and Rosé: The Inside Story of the Real Housewives From the People Who Lived It, was finally released early last week. It's been marketed as the “definitive oral history” of the franchise, containing interviews with more than 100 Housewives, as well as with producers and guest stars from the last 15 years. But the behind-the-scenes details and revelations inside the tell-all have created a bit of drama elsewhere. Current and old castmates are feuding, series alum Carole Radziwill is beefing with Andy Cohen and, now, Bethenny Frankel (true to form) is weighing in with her own hot take.
Despite being arguably the most recognizable face and bringing most of the drama during her eight seasons of the Real Housewives of New York City, the star was not interviewed for the new tell-all book. She wrote on Twitter that she was “approached” about it but ultimately decided to decline. In another tweet, though, the Skinnygirl CEO gave her perspective on it all, and the review seems a bit sarcastic. She wrote:
I think we need more stories about women trashing women…Or….we can publish a book about it? Is that a good idea? #2021 PS. I’ve had my regrettable moments but capitalizing on our weaknesses? That’s “rich”….literally #WomenSupportingWomen lol
Bethenny Frankel appears to be taking issue with Real Housewives drama making more money for everyone but the Housewives themselves. The new book is in fact published through Andy Cohen Books, so one would presume he's making more profits beyond his earnings as executive producer of the franchise. Frankel also wrote in her post that “nobody gets out without paying the bill,” which seems to be cryptically implying that alums might have felt obligated to participate in the book. (She indicated that she will be going into further detail about it on her Just B podcast later on.)
Only a few days before these comments, her former RHONY co-star, Carole Radziwill, was also chiming in on the slanted perspectives within the book. A fan on Twitter brought an excerpt from Andy Cohen to her attention from Andy Cohen, wherein he talked about how Radziwill’s exit from the show rubbed him “the wrong way” because he believed he “changed” her life. In response, Radziwill wrote:
Just another man telling a woman she ought to be more grateful. Housewives changed Andy Cohen's life, not mine. And Bravo built a 100million dollar franchise on the backs of women. Let's not get it twisted.
To be fair, Carole Radziwill was indeed a Peabody Award-winning journalist before she joined the mega franchise. But it's these kind of revelations from the book that are bringing seemingly quiet beefs to the foreground. New feuds are erupting, too. RHONY’s Leah McSweeney has vocalized her distaste for things that Sonja Morgan shared with the writer. Moreover, a Real Housewives of Beverly Hills producer confirmed that Lisa Vanderpump was indeed the culprit behind PuppyGate coming out, and Lisa Rinna has been frank about feeling vindicated on her Instagram stories (via Page Six).
Online commentators are currently speculating that the book is merely an attempt from Bravo to combat lackluster ratings across the board this year by purposefully stirring the pot. Low ratings could also be the reason for the widespread cast shake-ups taking place.
Nevertheless, it's clear that Bethenny Frankel and several others aren't happy with Bravo or the book. I guess we'll have to tune into Frankel’s podcast to find out how much deeper the apparent discord actually goes.
