The cast of The Real Housewives of New York City did not see Bethenny Frankel's departure coming.
Two sources connected to the RHONY cast tell ET that Frankel's exit from the show is a shock to the other cast members. The two sources claim that the other cast members were not given a head’s up that Frankel was exiting the show and found out about it in the press.
According to the two sources, filming for season 12 got underway on Wednesday, with one source calling Frankel's exit, "blindsiding."
ET confirmed that the Skinnygirl founder would no longer appear on the Bravo series on Wednesday. Frankel, herself, shared a goodbye message to all her fans on her Instagram, thanking them for "sticking with me through everything."
"You started this journey with me in my tiny apartment in my late 30s, wondering what would happen to me. I was broke, single, had no family and no idea what the future held," she wrote. "I had big dreams and I never stopped, but I honestly didn’t know if I would ever get here. You helped me to get here."
Frankel also took to her Instagram Story, while spending a day at the beach, to thank fans for all of their love and support.
"Are we not talking about the elephant in the room, or in the beach, about what happened today," she asked her followers. "It was a big day, big doings, and I'm dying and loving all of your comments. I'm not going to pretend that's not going down. Literally if I could get my heart out of my chest and I would give it to you, because feeling it, reading it, loving it, [I] live for you.
"You are everything to me," she added.
Meanwhile, RHONY newcomer Barbara Kavovit told ET in a statement, "Bethenny played such a huge role on RHONY over the years and I’m sad to see her leave the show. That being said, she excels at all that she does and I’m excited to see what the future holds for her."
Frankel has been a part of RHONY since 2008. She left the show after the third season in 2010, before rejoining in 2015.
For more on the RHONY cast, see below.
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