Bethenny Frankel Embraces Her 'Real' Body in Unfiltered Underwear Photo: 'This Is Me at 50'
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Bethenny Frankel is not a fan of filters.
To get her message across, the 50-year-old Real Housewives of New York alum shared a mirror selfie on Instagram Tuesday in which she poses in her Skinnygirl shapewear inside her bedroom. Alongside the image, Frankel wrote a message encouraging body positivity among women of all ages.
"If I were a 'filterer' I would have gotten rid of my lines and my dark circles, but this is me at 50. #zeroglam #zerofilter," she began the caption.
"Why do I mention this all the time? Because I think it's important for young women to know that being flawed is truthful and real, and that filtering yourself into someone fictitious is actually damaging to girls' and women's self esteem," Frankel continued. "It's courageous and beautiful to be real at any age."
"I realize that fake and filtered sells," she added, "but I'm happy over here with my followers who appreciate the difference. ❤️ #NationalShapewearDay @skinnygirlbrand shapewear."
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Frankel has stayed busy since her departure from RHONY in 2019. In addition to expanding her Skinnygirl brand — including its new line of wine — Frankel finalized her divorce from Jason Hoppy and got engaged to boyfriend Paul Bernon.
"The ring is absolutely beautiful," Frankel said on the PEOPLE Every Day podcast in June. "It's absolutely beautiful. Paul's an absolutely beautiful person and it's an exciting, fun time."
The divorce and engagement come two years after Frankel left RHONY for a second time. In April, the philanthropist said during an appearance on Paris Hilton's This Is Paris podcast that she lost her sense of self while filming the show.
Bethenny Frankel/Instagram
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"I left because it became not who I really was anymore, and you can't do something out of fear," Frankel said at the time, noting that she "was literally there because of the money."
Frankel said she initially took the opportunity because she was "broke" and "didn't have anything to lose" at that point. She first departed after the first three seasons, but told Hilton she was offered "a number I couldn't refuse" by the network to return for season 7.
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Ultimately, Frankel said being on the show was "just not what I wanted to be doing anymore." She explained, "I didn't want to be having those conversations. I didn't want to be arguing about things that really don't matter to me."
Frankel also is not pleased with how the show has "changed" since it first aired in 2008. "I was there in the beginning when it was something that none of us really even knew what it was, and now it's something that … people have a preconceived notion about it, and they know what's going to happen."
"I mean, how many charity events can we go to? How many friends can we not support on vacations, and how much drama do we want to avoid and then go right into the drama on the vacation?" she added. "So … the time had come [for me to leave]."
