The original RHONY cast brought some of the most chaotic and dramatic moments in Bravo history. According to OG Real Housewives of New York City star Bethenny Frankel, there were some unaired moments during one of the most iconic cast trips from the early seasons of RHONY that never aired because the footage would be such a major "liability" for the network.
During season 3 of RHONY, Bethenny Frankel, Ramona Singer, Alex McCord, Sonja Morgan, and Kelly Bensimon traveled to St. John for a cast getaway that, in true Real Housewives fashion, exploded into chaos -- mostly focused on Kelly Bensimon herself.
Early into the trip, Kelly Bensimon began acting erratically and became upset over a goodie bag that had been left outside the women's doors, taking it as anything but the nice gesture it was meant to be. Things got so intense that Kelly Bensimon was eventually sent home from the trip due to her mental state and Jill Zarin took her place unannounced which only added to the chaos, especially after Alex McCord saw that she had arrived.
Now, Bethenny Frankel is saying that there was so much more to the "Scary Island" RHONY cast trip than what actually aired -- and that some of the unaired footage could've been a major "liability" for the network!
In a video shared to her Instagram account, Bethenny Frankel called the trip "unprecedented and unsettling."
"All trips are unsettling because you are fitting 25 pounds of emotional and dramatic s-- and arguments in a 5-pound bag. Production has spent a lot of money, and they need to make a meal out of it," Bethenny Frankel said and went on to say that all of the cast trips were stressful and not like a fun, relaxing vacation as they appeared on screen.
About the trip to St. John in specific, Bethenny Frankel said that the cast felt really shook up because of how serious the drama was. "Many of us were shocked that things went back to quote-unquote 'normal' — filming was back to normal — after this trip, because it felt like there was a liability. I'm not gonna invade someone's privacy and discuss what went on, but it was very scary and it was jarring for all of us."
The RHONY star said that they didn't even air all of what happened during the explosive cast trip and claimed that some of the unaired footage could've been a major liability for Bravo, which is likely why it was left on the cutting room floor.
Although Bethenny Frankel didn't specify what happened that was such a big deal, it seems like she was hinting that Kelly Bensimon's issues were more serious than what was aired on the show, meaning that it's probably for the best that she left the cast trip when she did.
And if this is what she was referring to, it's likely not a surprise to Bravo fans as it wouldn't be the first time that the production team let something serious go on for longer than they likely should have.
In the early seasons of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Taylor Armstrong was in an abusive marriage and the physical abuse she was suffering was brought public by one of her co-stars, putting her in an incredibly dangerous position. More recently, Kenya Moore and Brit Eady's feud on The Real Housewives of Atlanta came to a head after Brit Eady seemingly threatened Kenya Moore with a gun, leading to Kenya sharing private images of the newbie at a public event.
All seasons of RHONY, including season 3 with the trip to "Scary Island" as well as the rebooted cast, are available for streaming on Peacock.