‘RHONY’ Star Bethenny Frankel Alleges She Was ‘Abused’ in Court Hearing of Heated Custody Battle

Bethenny Frankel is currently in the midst of a custody battle with her ex-husband, Jason Hoppy, over their 8-year-old daughter, Bryn, and the businesswoman appeared in court on March 6 to offer an emotional testimony against her ex.

Currently, the couple has joint custody, but Frankel is attempting to change the agreement to give herself sole custody. In court, the Skinnygirl founder explained that she had agreed to joint custody “because we had been in war and I wanted to stop the bleeding.”

After making the agreement, the couple began see a parent coordinator, with Frankel testifying that “the intensity of the conflict became greater.”

“The conflict was day in and day out torture,” she said, via PEOPLE. “Emotional, mental, phone, FaceTime, being followed, being harassed, being verbally attacked and all-out assault in every possible way — on my character, on my mental state, on my family, on my parenting, on my career, on my life.”

“I tried to use an arsenal of tools to protect myself to reduce the damage for myself and Bryn,” The Real Housewives of New York star continued. “I tried to keep Bryn away from it. I was very emotionally upset, I tried to really separate her from that. I tried to grieve privately.”

“I felt hopeless and helpless. I had no way out,” she told the court. “I knew I was being abused.”

Frankel and Hoppy married in 2010 and split in 2012, reaching a financial settlement in 2016. In 2014, Frankel moved out of their home, saying in court that before she left, she had a padlock on her door.

“I had an apartment that I had shared with Jason. I had a padlock on my door to protect myself,” she said. “I pleaded and begged and emailed and said by phone and FaceTime to please stop harassing me and abusing me. And [he] didn’t — it got worse.”

In 2017, Frankel obtained a restraining order against Hoppy after an incident in which he showed up at Bryn’s school and allegedly threatened Frankel.

“I hired a criminal attorney because I was beings systematically abused,” the 48-year-old said. “I was getting hundreds and hundreds of emails. I was afraid it was affecting my daughter’s emotional well being. I felt like what he was doing was illegal. I was abused, and I knew it was no longer a custody issue.”

Hoppy was cross-examined by Frankel’s attorney on Monday and said that he thinks he and Frankel are “both good parents” and that he wants to “move on.”

“There are probably some statements we both made to each other that we regret,” he said. “I take full responsibility for the comments I have made.”

Photo Credit: Getty / Roy Rochlin