Bethenny Frankel Sparks An Honest Discussion About Divorce

Bethenny Frankel isn’t afraid to admit how she really feels about her divorce. Sure, she wouldn’t be the first reality star to go through a very public split, but she is definitely the first to open up about it so candidly. If you watch her interview on Good Day New York, there is something so genuine about what she is saying that makes me forget the drama of reality TV and truly sympathize with her as a fellow human being.

If you aren’t familiar with Bethenny, she’s the skinny girl behind SkinnyGirl Cocktails. She got her TV start on Bravo’s Real Housewives of New York as a single gal living in NYC. She built her business, fell in love, got married and had a baby all on national television. Bethenny was the girl to root for and her fans rejoiced when she finally got her happy ending. So it was a shock to most when she announced her marriage was coming to an end.

Prior to this Good Day New York segment, Bethenny also opened up to Ellen DeGeneres, saying she felt like a failure for not making her relationship work. But why? She surely isn’t the first or last woman to go through a divorce, or even to struggle in a relationship. Why should she feel like a failure? For a time, she had a strong relationship and has a beautiful daughter to prove it. She runs an extremely successful business and has turned her name into a household brand. I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t spell failure in my book.

We’ve all witnessed celebrity divorces in our day. Everything is hush-hush and no one usually has anything too nasty to say to the media. Everyone’s always working on being the “best co-parent” or trying to stay civil and taking time to heal. Not many are willing to be brutally honest. And although so much of Bethenny’s life has been documented on TV, I would never expect her to be so forthcoming with the emotional details of her divorce.

I’ve never been divorced or even married, so I can’t offer some great words of wisdom or say I know what Bethenny’s going through. Honestly, after listening to Bethenny, I hope no one has to go through something like that ever again. But I do know what it feels like when you have to let go of something you tried to hold onto so tightly. And I could relate to this:

Not many people are willing to stand up and talk about their pains—of course, because they’re painful! But Bethenny made a great point: By talking about it, by being honest with ourselves about how we really feel, we might just help someone else and help ourselves.

In my mind I say, “Go Bethenny!” She wasn’t afraid to be vulnerable on television, I mean truly vulnerable. She started a discussion about divorce, about the trials and tribulations of making a relationship work and the awful feeling that comes when it ends.

I know celebrities are always stepping out and doing that one interview after something horrific happens, but there was something about this one in particular that made me stop and think. It didn’t feel like a PR stunt, even though it very well could have been. It felt like a woman saying, “I wish someone could have warned me,” all the while knowing no one ever could.

I hope this inspires people to be more honest with themselves. And I hope it inspires people who have the platform that Bethenny has to be more honest with those looking up to them. I commend Bethenny for taking the stage; for simply and elegantly stating that divorce is anything but simple; for remaining poised and for sharing her own pain without inflicting any on others.

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