The friendship breakup between Jill Zarin and Bethenny Frankel is among the most dramatic in Housewives history. The two, once best friends, have only sporadically spoken since Jill was fired from RHONY in 2011.
The pair came together briefly for the funeral of Bobby Zarin, Jill’s husband of eighteen years, who died in 2018 of cancer.
However, years later, Jill said she is angry with Bethenny over something that happened at the funeral, and she has no intention of forgiving her former friend.
Why is Jill still angry at Bethenny after all of the years?
In May of 2021, Jill was a guest on the Blast from the Past episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen and was asked if she thought she and Bethenny could ever be friends again. Her answer was simple – nope.
Now, in a recent interview, Jill has revealed the reason for the hard stop on any reconciliation with Bethenny. “She came with cameras [to Bobby’s funeral], which I didn’t know were going to be there, so that changed it for me,” Jill said.
Jill said many of her former costars and friends attended, but “Housewives came without cameras to pay their respects: Dorinda [Medley], Luann [de Lesseps], Ramona [Singer], all came [with] no makeup, no hair, you know, not glammed out,” Jill added.
She also said that she didn’t talk to Bethenny about her feelings directly because there was no reason to. “I was so happy to see her that I didn’t question the fact that she was all dressed up, and I just didn’t know,” Jill said. She did later admit that she felt Bethenny had shown up for publicity.
Jill did say that she and Bethenny met privately after the funeral at her home. “She came to my house to talk without cameras and I really thought that was authentic,” the star said. “I didn’t know that after she left my house, she was filming with the girls to download them on coming to my house. I did feel a bit used.”
Bethenny did not comment on Jill’s claims, but a source close to her said, “Jill hasn’t been able to keep Bethenny’s name out of her mouth for a decade. Bethenny wishes her well in all her endeavors and hopes she finally gets her apple back (that she has desperately tried to shake from the tree).”
Bobby would have loved to see Jill and Bethenny reconcile, a source claimed
Bethenny was in Aspen, Colorado, when she learned of Bobby’s death and chartered a private jet back to New York to be there for the funeral. But some were surprised to see Bethenny followed by a full camera crew, filming scenes for RHONY outside the chapel.
However, at the time, a source close to Jill said she was aware that Bravo would be filming at the service, adding, “This was all about memorializing Bobby — [there was] no drama. It’s very sad for all. He was an important part of the show and a great friend to many who appeared on it.” – a much different story than Jill is telling now.
The insider added that Jill believes Bobby would have been happy to know that the occasion brought the onetime old friends-turned-nemeses back together.
The Real Housewives of New York City is on hiatus on Bravo.