Bethenny Frankel moves to sell Skinnygirl brand to reduce mounting stress on latest episode of RHONY
Bethenny Frankel was ready to sell the Skinnygirl brand that she created and built up during Wednesday's episode of The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills.
The 48-year-old reality star after a custody hearing over her eight-year-old daughter Bryn was looking to downscale.
She cried in the backseat after the hearing in which ex-husband Jason Hoppy unsuccessfully sought to have her drug tested after the overdose death of her on/off late boyfriend Dennis Shields.
Brand deal: Bethenny Frankel was determined to sell her Skinnygirl brand to make her life easier during Wednesday's episode of The Real Housewives Of New York City
Bethenny got on the phone with Bernt Ullmann, president of her company BB Endeavors, and tearfully said she needed a change.
'I don't have time to drink water,' she complained.
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She was reeling from balancing work and motherhood, her philanthropic work, court battles with Jason, mourning over Dennis and her new relationship with Paul Bernon, 41.
'I want to get off this. I need a break,' she said.
Custody hearing: Bethenny Frankel cried after a custody hearing as her hectic life started to catch up with her
Shut down: A judge rejected a request by Bethenny's ex Jason Hoppy to subject her to drug testing after the overdose death of her ex-boyfriend Dennis Shields
'I'm realizing, I'm taking on too much and I'm burnt. We need to let some air out of the tires. I need some support and help. It's all been too much. I can't breathe,' Bethenny told Bernt.
Bethenny founded Skinnygirl in 2009 with her pre-packaged Skinnygirl Margarita and sold Skinnygirl Cocktails in 2011 to Beam Global for an estimated $100 million.
She maintained control over the name and has branched Skinnygirl out into multiple products, including: jeans, candy, deli meat, popcorn and shapewear.
Summer ready: Bethenny took to Instagram on Thursday with a Throwback Thursday photo as she prepared for summer
'All of the seeds that I planted years ago didn't factor in for divorce and custody battle, a relief effort that I put on, a death, etc,' Bethenny said.
'It's every day, all day. I'm with Bryn for every activity, and then it's boom - on a plane to North Carolina. Then boom, on a plane to Florida for relief. … I'm not going on like this,' she added.
Bethenny said she was open to 'moving some pieces around on the board' to reduce the stress in her life.
Moving pieces: The mother of one said she was open to 'moving some pieces around on the board' to reduce the stress in her life
'This will get resolved. I'm not looking to exit, I'm just looking for ways to take some pressure off,' she said.
She met with Bernt later in the episode and they discussed offers from two potential buyers.
'It feels really nice that people are very impressed with the Skinnygirl brand, with what I've built. I still feel like I'm the young girl struggling to make it work. This is more than a decade later and it's a known brand name. I just have to decide what the dynamic is going to be,' she said.
Multiple offers: Bernt Ullmann, president of her company BB Endeavors, told Bethenny they have offers from two potential buyers
They were considering deals that would likely leave Bethenny with creative control and the face of the company and she said they could 'build a brand to a stratosphere that I don't even understand.'
Bethenny believed the stress was harming her complexion and said she was looking forward to the change.
'I want to do this. I want to take some pressure off. I can't live like this,' she said.
'I want my life to be different. I don't want to be rushing out of something to get to something else to get to be with my daughter. I have a good relationship going with a great guy and I want to keep it that way. I want it to be balanced,' she added.
Complexion issue: Bethenny believed the stress was harming her complexion and said she was looking forward to the change
