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Bethenny Frankel recently shared her thoughts regarding her former Real Housewives of New York City co-star, Carole Radziwill, and her purported past association with the convicted sex trafficker, Ghislaine Maxwell.
“What I do know is that Carole has been friendly with many notable women,” Bethenny, now 55, informed her Instagram followers on Saturday, February 7.
Among those she name-dropped were the late Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, the ex-wife of Hollywood manager Brad Grey, Cassandra Huysentruyt, and CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour. It’s worth noting that Carole, aged 62, was married to fellow journalist Anthony Radziwiłł, whose cousin, John F. Kennedy Jr., was married to Carolyn. Tragically, Carolyn, her sister Lauren Bessette, and John died in a plane crash near Martha’s Vineyard on July 16, 1999. Less than a month later, on August 10, 1999, Anthony succumbed to cancer.
Bethenny remarked, “I am aware that Carole has taken several opportunities to take jabs at me, make digs, or speak negatively about me in a post-RHONY world. It’s part of the game while the show is running, but post-show, she has certainly gone for it, and I choose not to reciprocate.”
Meanwhile, Andy Cohen has always been open about his intricate relationships with the Real Housewives, especially after they leave their respective franchises. Since becoming the Vice President of Original Programming at Bravo in 2004, Cohen has been involved with the franchise, starting with his executive producer role for Real Housewives of Orange County, which debuted two years later.
The RHONY icon then cryptically added, “It’s not my business.”
Carole’s past connections to Ghislaine, 64, resurfaced following the Justice Department’s release of more than 3.5 million documents obtained from late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s estate. Jeffrey’s ex-girlfriend Ghislaine was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June 2022 after being convicted of sex trafficking-related charges. (Jeffrey died by suicide at age 66 in August 2019 following his arrest on federal sex crimes charges.)
Among the new documents released by the Justice Department are casual emails purportedly exchanged by Carole and Ghislaine in September 2005. In another message, Ghislaine appeared to describe Carole as “the most wonderful, the most beautiful, the smartest, the best, the brightest.”
Carole has addressed her connections to Ghislaine in the past. In September 2025, a fan asked her via X if it was true that Ghislaine was “the photographer for her book” What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship, and Love.
Carole Radziwill and Bethenny Frankel attend Us Weekly’s Most Stylish New Yorkers 2016. D Dipasupil/Getty Images for Us Weekly
“I knew her socially [and] she had a real camera (it was 2004 no one carried cameras) anyway I’d had a pro photo shoot but the pics were bad,” the RHONY alum replied. “I asked her if she’d take the picture & she said sure. In hindsight was it odd she had a camera? I guess but who knew?!”
Another X user asked how nobody in Carole’s social circle could have known about Ghislaine and Jeffrey’s crimes.
The rise and fall of Andy Cohen and Carole Radziwill’s friendship may just be fit for reality TV. Before becoming one of the faces of Bravo, the Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen host appeared to have a friendly relationship with Radziwill that extended into her initial seasons on The Real Housewives of New […]
“Sure rich men, creepy people… obvs the men who were involved knew…I’m saying the social party friends especially us girls — we didn’t know. When people are doing bad s*** they hide it well. It’s f***ing creepy,” Carole countered.
She added, “The rich people I know are kind and decent. But apparently no one knew anything about her except I guess for the FBI. They should release their report. It’s awful. It’s so dark, no? Better left to authorities.”
Carole has denied knowing Ghislaine’s ex-boyfriend Jeffrey and said she had no knowledge of any misconduct.
As for Bethenny and Carole, the pair were once besties during their years on RHONY but their friendship imploded during season 10. Carole left at the end of the season, with Bethenny following suit after season 11.
Carole also fell out with Bravo boss Andy Cohen when she left The Real Housewives of New York City, though she confirmed to Us Weekly at Bravocon in October 2025 that they’d officially squashed the beef.
“Andy and I’ve known each other a very long time, way before the Housewives. After I left, there was some animosity and some miscommunication. It’s a high stress job,” Carole admitted. “We did not speak for a long time. Publicly, we were sparring a little. I just thought, ‘Why are we doing this publicly?’”
If you or someone you know is a human trafficking victim, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.