By Molly Claire Goddard
10:49am PDT, Jun 23, 2025
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Bethenny Frankel is inspiring women to be proud of their bodies.
The businesswoman, 54, made headlines when she strutted down the runway in a bikini looking like she was having the time of her life at the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Runway Show during Miami Swim Week in late May.
Frankel chats exclusively with
Wonderwall.com about what was going through her mind before the big event, her most valuable business advice, her partnership with
Heluva Good! for their limited-edition Host's Hidden Heluva Good! sweepstakes and more.
Keep reading for the highlights from our chat…MORE:
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"I didn't know how big of a deal it was,"
Bethenny Frankel says of being asked to walk in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Runway Show. "I sadly sweat the small stuff. The big stuff I don't make a big deal about. Everyone around me on the day was like, 'Today, I just want you to take the day for yourself.' I'm looking at them like, 'They're so weird!' It was like my wedding day. But I'll focus on something that is not important and freak out about it. I was just excited to be invited. It was an inspiring experience."
"The people at
Sports Illustrated were so fun. When I was in the dressing room with them and going through the bathing suits, someone handed me something and I'm like, 'Is this a thong?'" she recalls. "But no, don't worry! It wasn't a thong. It was a G string! I've never in my life worn a thong or a G string! It's like dental floss!"
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Despite any hesitations,
Bethenny Frankel fully embraced the experience. "We all were laughing and having fun. It set the tone for the weekend," the businesswoman says. "Just as I treat everything, I give it my all. I just wanted to have fun. I was more moved by the people backstage than even what was going on stage. The other models were so inspiring and owned their bodies positively and not in a performative way. They were actually loving themselves. It was contagious."
Luckily for Frankel, her new partnership with Heluva Good! Dip helped her prep for the big day. "I had supermodel snacks! It made everybody listen to what I choose to eat," she says. "I've been getting inspired by the different dip flavors, the colorful foods and thinking about why people are so intrigued by what I'm eating. It's the choices that I make, the flavors and the interesting combinations. Now I sort of have some credibility in what I choose to eat and align myself with, because I think people were moved by the walk, but I was just being me."
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Bethenny Frankel teamed up with
Heluva Good! Dip to get the word out that consumers can
enter for a chance to win the Host's Hidden Heluva Good! sweepstakes now through June 27.
"It kind of works with everything," the former Bravo star says of the brand. "It works well as a dip, also as a spread. The horseradish bacon dip would be great on a baked potato or a steak sandwich. The French onion one you could mix into chicken salad because onions are often put in chicken or even tuna salad."
"It's fun to get inspired about entertaining and eating," Frankel adds. "People are inspired by my very simple recipes. It works really well because I like a lot of flavor and these types of food accessories — I'm calling it a food accessory!"
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While she's partnering with other businesses at the moment,
Bethenny Frankel is a successful entrepreneur who's inspired a generation of self-starting business owners.
"I learned this so many times this week, this year and the last five years: Every single great success that I've ever had has been someone telling me no. Every single thing. If you talk about the
Sports Illustrated walk, someone on my team told me no. They said they would never want me. If you think about Skinnygirl, I was told no by a person who was major in the liquor business that it was a 'f*** you idea.' I was laughed at when I said, 'I think I'm an influencer' by someone I was in a relationship with. You can crowdsource and ask people's opinions. But you have to go with your own gut," she says of her best piece of advice.
