The Real Housewives of New York alum Bethenny Frankel has just gone public with her boyfriend Tom Villante. The reality star was previously married to Jason Hoppy, and the former couple share a daughter, Bryn Hoppy. While Frankel filed for divorce from Hoppy back in 2013, their long-drawn custody battle went on till 2021. She then got engaged to Paul Bernon in March 2021 but they called it quits in May 2024. Now, it looks like Frankel is ready for a fresh start.
The Bravolebrity took to Instagram to let the world know that she was officially off the market. Frankel shared a Reel of herself and Villante, as he stoked a fire in a fireplace. The text on the video read: “POV: He buys you a luxury heated throw and builds a fire while you sup an overpriced latter.” In the video, Frankel is seen covered in a furry white throw while the viral audio “Thank you to my man” by the rapper Latto played in the background.
Frankel and Villante sparked dating rumors when they were spotted holding hands during a night out in Santa Monica, as reported by Page Six. The two were then seen together at the premiere of Yellowstone Season 5B on November 7, 2024. As far as Villante is concerned, he is the chairman and co-founder of a payment process plan company called Yapstone. According to The New York Times, he graduated from Princeton University and was previously married to Caitlin Anastasia Meeha.
Frankel Opens Up About Her Complicated Relationship With Her Mother
In early November 2024, the reality star took to Instagram to talk about her late mother, Bernadette Birk, who passed away from lung cancer in April 2024. Frankel revealed that she shared her birthday with her mother and confessed that the two of them didn’t have a very good relationship. “I was born on my mother’s 20th birthday. I was never public about sharing her birthday,” wrote Frankel in the caption.
She went on to express how her dynamic with her mother made birthdays “an incredible source of anxiety” for her. Frankel confessed that her relationship with her mother was the biggest trauma she had ever experienced and that she hated being connected to Birk on her birthday. In her exact words: “As a child, I would get physically sick every year.”
The reality TV star admitted that after her mother’s passing away, she felt free, light, and happy on her birthday for the first time in years. Frankel took the opportunity to share how transformative the year has been for her. She noted that she was proud of her age and of the “mother, friend, partner, and person,” she has become. The Bravolebrity thanked her fans for all their support and noted that she has everything she has wanted and needed in her life.
New episodes of The Real Housewives of New York City Season 15 air every Tuesday on Bravo at 9 pm EST/PST. Episodes are available to stream on Peacock the next day. You can stream the show’s previous seasons on the same platform.
