Reality TV star Bethenny Frankel was honored with the Reality Royalty Award at the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards: Unscripted on Sunday.
Paris Hilton, who said Frankel was her nanny when Frankel first moved to Los Angeles, introduced the reality star before a sizzle reel played of Frankel on The Housewives of New York City.
“She is the kind of woman who makes you crack up laughing, isn’t afraid to get deep and is fiercely loyal unless you cross her,” Hilton said. “She’s also an incredibly successful entrepreneur and a philanthropist with a huge heart, who always looks for ways to share her good fortune with others. She once said, ‘You cannot show only the petals and not the thorns. It’s not fair to them.’ So Bethenny, it’s time for us to give you your flowers, thorns and all.”
“This is full circle,” Frankel said, joking. “I took care of Paris when she was barely out of diapers. This is actually the announcement for our new reality show where Paris changes my diapers. It’s called That’s Not Hot.”
Getting serious, Frankel said, “Thank you, MTV. Thank you to the audience who has invested in a flawed yet always transparent person. I have overshot the mark. All I ever wanted was to make a difference in some way. Leave a mark. I was a late bloomer. I wasn’t successful by any definition, and was broke and bouncing checks well into my late 30s. Reality television gave me a platform to authentically be myself, be honest about my flaws, my struggles being broken, alone and with no safety net, a place to mention it all.”
She continued, “It’s accessible if you take it one mistake at a time and create your own authentic journey. Being honest, flawed and unique is beautiful. I’m here by living truthfully and doing what’s important to me on my own terms. You have taught me so many life lessons and have been on this incredible journey with me since day one. You have given me and my daughter a life I couldn’t have dreamed of. I am grateful to you and to my team who supports me when it’s rough and exhausting and we all want to quit. Thank you to Bravo, Andy Cohen and that first crazy and amazing cast of New York Housewives. You gave me a runway from which to soar. Success comes from working hard and solidifying relationships and a level of trust and the right people betting that you are the horse that can run the distance… Thank you to Paul, the most loyal and loving partner I could ever have dreamed of. To Bryn, my sweet peanut, I have given you everything and you’ve given me back infinity. You are the little girl in people’s dreams. I love you. To my daughter and to all of you who have a dream, make good choices, play the long game. We have to play checkers every day but this whole ride is one gigantic chessboard, choose your moves wisely. And don’t go for the low hanging fruit. The shiniest apple is sitting at the top. This is all a dream. You all go for yours.”
She is the second person to win this award after the cast of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation was the first recipient in 2021.
In 2005, Frankel starred on The Apprentice: Martha Stewart, on which she came second. Then she was on Bravo’s The Housewives of New York City for eight seasons. She’s also starred in many other shows include a Bethenny Ever After spinoff and hosted her own talk show, Bethenny. In 2021, she launched Big Shot With Bethenny, a reality competition series on HBO Max in which she searched for her second-in-command at her Skinnygirl company.
The 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards: Unscripted was hosted by Tayshia Adams.
You can watch Frankel’s full speech below.
