Bethenny Frankel Opens up About ‘Really Challenging’ Season of ‘Money Court’ (Exclusive)

Bethenny Frankel was pushed to a whole new level this season of Money Court. Ahead of Wednesday’s all-new episode of the CNBC show, the Skinnygirl founder and CEO opened up to PopCulture.com about the “really challenging” season presiding over business disputes with Shark Tank‘s Kevin O’Leary.

Working with her fellow entrepreneur, Frankel takes on problems big and small, from deals gone sour to differing visions and disagreements over business strategy. Carefully considering all sides of a case and examining the relevant evidence, O’Leary and Frankel come up with a unique strategic solution to set the business on the right path.

“It was amazing, the whole experience was amazing,” Frankel told PopCulture of stepping into the role of business guru on Money Court. “What I ended up getting was so much more. What I learned was so much. … It’s like playing tennis with a better tennis player for both me and Kevin.” Getting to the bottom of every case, Frankel and O’Leary dove deep into case law to find the correct solution for the businesses asking for their help. 

“Every night we were so exhausted because it was exercising our brains,” the Real Housewives of New York City alum noted, calling the whole experience “really challenging” for both her and her co-star. “We were exhausted. I was meditating and napping during lunch, and I never nap,” she revealed. Frankel believes she brought a necessary focus on the “dynamics” of business to O’Leary’s focus on the “black and white numbers” on the panel. “I think people don’t realize that business is personal, and I think that was one of the things I was showing Kevin as well,” Frankel said. 

Frankel may have stepped into the spotlight on RHONY, but her experience mediating the fights on Bravo didn’t play into her business mediation at all. “The stakes are high,” she told PopCulture of Money Court. “What happens on Real Housewives doesn’t matter.” 

And while Frankel is juggling her Forever Young wines, ReWives podcast and a possible foray into the nonalcoholic beverage space, the entrepreneur said she’s “not desperate” to expand further at the moment, despite fans pushing her to enter the “crowded” beauty space. “Maybe,” she said of possibly launching some kind of beauty line. “I’m just not sure what it would look like.” Money Court airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on CNBC.