Bethenny Frankel hinted at what never aired on the “Scary Island” cast trip to Saint John. The Real Housewives of New York alum also shared why castmates were “shocked,” and she claimed the unaired footage would be a “liability for the network.”
On the trip, Bethenny and castmates were screaming at Kelly Bensimon while she was allegedly in an unhealthy mental state. At one point, Sonja Morgan felt so bad for Kelly that she told her costars to stop. Years later, Kelly shared that she yelled out a producer’s name so they would stop production.
“Scary island was unprecedented and unsettling,” recalled Bethenny in an Instagram video. “All trips are unsettling because you are fitting 25 pounds of emotional and dramatic s**t and arguments in a 5-pound bag. Production has spent a lot of money, and they need to make a meal out of it.”
“This [trip] was very scary because … most wasn’t aired,” she went on. “The stuff that wasn’t aired would be a liability for the network, so that certainly wasn’t going to happen.”
“Many of us were shocked that things went back to quote-unquote ‘normal’ — filming was back to normal — after this trip, because it felt like there was a liability,” she said. “I’m not gonna invade someone’s privacy and discuss what went on, but it was very scary and it was jarring for all of us … It shook us all.”
According to Bethenny, the cast trips are “not relaxing,” and only Ramona Singer viewed it like they “were actually on a vacation.”
“[The] Colombia [cast trip] was another liability, but we’ll discuss that [later],” said Bethenny, seemingly alluding to the ‘Boat Ride from Hell.’ “And it was different ’cause … it was about our safety, versus
like an individual.”
She also shared that Saint John “wasn’t happy to be associated” with the name, ‘Scary Island.’
“And another time I’ll tell you about all the brands that were furious about how they were portrayed,” she said. “I.e. Kodak.”
In 2022, Bravo completely replaced the original cast of Real Housewives of New York.
