The reality star and businesswoman opened up about the unexpected feud during a recent episode of her podcast.
Unexpected enemies! Bethenny Frankel is getting candid about some bad blood between herself and Martha Stewart.
The 52-year-old reality star and businesswoman opened up about the unexpected feud with the 81-year-old lifestyle expert during a recent episode of her podcast, Just B with Bethenny Frankel.
"We're definitely not friends, but we almost did this TV project together despite the fact that she can't stand me," Frankel shared. "And I can't really stand her either."
Frankel admitted, "I've always respected her work ethic, and that she's a ball-buster going for it her own way, and whether or not she'll admit it or not, she feels the same way about me."
However, the friction between the pair began all the way back in 2005 when Frankel was a contestant on The Apprentice: Martha Stewart -- a spin-off of The Apprentice starring Stewart as the big boss.
According to Frankel, a series of misunderstandings and awkward moments that occurred between them poisoned any potential friendliness. From Frankel wearing a Louis Vuitton suit on set -- giving Stewart the impression that she was more well-off than she led on -- to an awkward interaction with Bill Clinton on the day of the show's live season finale.
While Frankel made it to the season's final two, she ended up getting fired by Stewart, and Frankel recalled exactly what Stewart said when she eliminated her from the show.
"What she said to me when she fired me was insane," Frankel shared. "She said, 'Bethenny, you're pushy, you're a show-off and you feel the need to make a physical impression which is not entirely necessary at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.' Oh yeah, she hated me. She hated me."
Frankel explained that, shortly after the season wrapped production, she went to St. Barts to attend a party on a yacht. Stewart happened to be at the same party. Frankel recalled that she wore a "f**k you" dress -- a revealing, curve-hugging black number -- and ran into Stewart at the event.
Frankel claims that Stewart said hi, and then introduced her to a friend, stating, "'This is Bethenny, she was on my show but she didn't win, so she's mad at me.'"
"I looked at her and said, 'Martha, I'm not mad at you. You're like someone I used to date that I'm still in love with,'" Frankel said. "That was that, and it was icy."
Shortly after the season aired, Frankel said that tabloids had dug up an old, low-budget film she was in, in which she was topless. The story made headlines as tabloids dredged up her past. Frankel said it felt like the worst thing that ever happened to her, at the time.
According to Frankel, she ran into Stewart, and things got even more uncomfortable.
"I see her at a restaurant and I sit down next to her and she goes, 'Oh, Bethenny, I just saw your movie.' The movie was from years ago... for her to say that was the sickest, sickest statement anyone's ever said," Frankel stated. "So I say back to her, 'Oh really Martha? Well I just got an insider stock tip.'"
Frankel said the feud has continued through the years, as the two have frequently run into each other. Eventually, Stewart was a guest on Frankel's podcast, where she described her as "a pest" during her time on The Apprentice. Although Frankel gave Stewart credit for agreeing to go on her podcast in the first place.
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