Bethenny Frankel Breaks Down in Tears Recalling 'Traumatic' Divorce from Jason Hoppy

Bethenny Frankel, the former star of The Real Housewives of New York City, has never been one to hold back her feelings, but even her most loyal fans might not have been ready for the raw emotion she shared this week. On Wednesday's episode of Alex Cooper's Call Her Daddy podcast, the Skinnygirl mogul opened up about her decade-long divorce from ex-husband Jason Hoppy — a split that left her shaken and questioning if she'd ever feel whole again. Things got heavy fast.

Frankel described the years after her separation from Hoppy as a psychological gauntlet unlike anything she had ever faced. Given her tumultuous childhood, that's saying a lot. Through tears, she said: 'I've seen my mother slit her wrists. I've chased her into bathrooms trying to catch her throwing up. I've been around guns, the mafia, the racetrack. I've seen her beaten within an inch of her life. Nothing compares to what my divorce was for 10 years. Nothing.'

For Frankel, the trauma wasn't just in memories but in the daily grind of the divorce process. She explained that despite coming from an unstable background, it was the dissolution of her marriage that nearly broke her. She compared her mother's long battle with addiction and bulimia to what she faced during the divorce, calling the former 'child's play compared to the trauma of someone wanting to torture you and telling you they're going to do it.'

Bethenny also reflected on how public perception twisted the narrative. Because she was the more successful partner, she was labeled the aggressor while Hoppy was seen as the victim. But behind closed doors, she claims reality was different: 'It was so traumatic. I lost hair. I thought I'd never survive it. I didn't want to. I had to because of my daughter. I literally thought I'd never be happy again.'

The couple married in 2010 and quickly had daughter Bryn. What should have been a joyful start unraveled quickly, and they split in 2012. However, the divorce wasn't finalized until 2021 — nearly a decade of relentless court proceedings, legal fees, and what she called deeply unsettling behavior from her ex. 'I treated it like a marathon, but it was fraud, stealing, hacking, harassment, abuse. He Googled me 60 times a day, stayed in bed staring at my face, called me every bad character in books.'

The intensity left Bethenny fighting not just for custody and safety, but for her own sense of self. She poured millions into the legal battle, and every lawyer said they'd never seen anything like it. What kept her going was the belief that she could one day help others in similar situations. She stressed the importance of a prenup and trusting your instincts early, warning that small issues can become life-altering crises. Despite her anguish, she never spoke badly about Hoppy in front of Bryn, believing children feel the tension even if it's not spoken. 'You should never, ever say a bad thing about the other parent, because it's the worst thing you can do to a child,' she said.