TV PREVIEW
“The Real Housewives of New York City,” 9 p.m. Tuesdays, Bravo
BOOK SIGNING AND TALK
Bethenny Frankel
6:30 p.m. April 13. $40 (which includes a copy of "I Suck at Relationships So You Don't Have To"). Atlanta History Center/Grand Overlook Ballroom, 130 W. Paces Ferry Road N.W., Atlanta. www.atlantahistorycenter.com.
Bethenny Frankel writing an advice book about relationships is kind of like Oprah Winfrey penning a diet book.
The "Real Housewives of New York City" star and Skinnygirl business mogul is in the midst of an acrimonious divorce and readily admits that she's had more failure than success in the love department. So her book, which came out Tuesday, addresses that issue head on in its title: "I Suck at Relationships So You Don't Have To" (Simon & Schuster, $24.99).
“Just because I haven’t found the right person doesn’t mean I don’t have it in me,” Frankel said earlier this week to me by phone in New York right after a “Today” show appearance. “It doesn’t mean I don’t have good advice to give. People can be married 30 years and have issues.”
She’s doing a book tour that stops April 13 at the Atlanta History Center.
Frankel said she’s never had a problem getting guys. “A lot of it has to do with keeping the guy,” she said. “It’s also whether I’m choosing the right guy. Ultimately, it’s do as I say, not as I’ve done.”
She covers a lot of territory over 300 pages, hitting 10 major themes, including understanding men, money, sex and trusting your gut vs. your heart and mind.
She also includes the thoughts of her therapist Xavier Amador, who periodically inserts his own thoughts. He didn’t always agree with Frankel, such as her assertion that men are simpletons who primarily think about subjects such as sex, beer and sports. “He will not tell me what I want to hear,” she said. “I never saw what he wrote until the book went to print.”
She is currently dating but nobody seriously. And so far, most of the dates find the fact she has a book called “I Suck at Relationships So You Don’t Have To” more endearing than off-putting.
Frankel’s syndicated talk show ended last year after just one season due to low ratings. “I was grateful for the opportunity, but I didn’t enjoy the experience,” she said. “It didn’t feel truthful.” Then again, relationships were a common topic and inspired her latest book.
With her talk show gone, she returned this past week to “The Real Housewives of New York City” for its seventh season after leaving after season three.
“I was offered all sorts of shows like ‘Shark Tank’ and ‘Dancing With the Stars,’” Frankel said. “I chose to go back because I wanted to go back. I missed the connection. I missed the forum to be free to be me. It’s liberating and therapeutic.”
Her biggest change, besides several different cast members, is her perspective on the petty arguments that tend to dominate these types of shows.
“The conflicts no longer seem so consequential,” she said. “It’s all about perspective.”
She has now concluded that “I’m a professional reality star. I accept that.”
While talking to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2011, she was on a Miami beach with her daughter and the paparazzi were bothering her. At the time, she called them “vultures.”
She now has more conciliatory feelings toward them: “I’ve gotten more used to them. They’re a little more respectful when it comes to my daughter. They’re doing their jobs. … They’re not particularly rude to me now.”
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