Bethenny Frankel and Paul Bernon Quietly Split Two Months Before It Became Public

Former Real Housewives star Bethenny Frankel has historically been unafraid to speak her mind. Since leaving The Real Housewives of New York City, a show she helped launch in 2008, Bethenny spearheaded a “reality reckoning” in October 2023, taking aim at Bravo and demanding a reality TV union in the wake of the SAG-AFTRA strike that same year.

Bethenny’s actions against Bravo have seemingly been paused amid issues in her personal life. In May 2024, reports surfaced Bethenny and her longtime partner, film producer Paul Bernon, had broken up after six years together.

Since their split, the Skinny Girl CEO hasn’t addressed it publicly, leaving fans to wonder what happened between her and Paul.

Here’s what we know about Bethenny and Paul’s breakup.

On May 6, 2024, Us Weekly broke the news that Bethenny and Paul ended their engagement. According to the outlet, Bethenny and Paul ended their romance in March 2024, two months before it began making headlines. The breakup reportedly stemmed from the couple realizing they weren’t on the same page.

“They are so different – he’s an under-the-radar kind of guy,” the source said of Paul and Bethenny.

While Bethenny and Paul themselves haven’t given more context into why they broke up, her fans suspected there could be some trouble in paradise between them due to her Instagram activity. In multiple social media videos and photos, Bethenny sporadically wore her engagement ring on camera, signaling that Paul may have asked her to return it. However, the source confirmed to Us Weekly that Bethenny “still has the ring,” though she likely won’t flaunt it on TikTok and Instagram anymore.

Bethenny and Paul’s romance began on a dating app. At the time, the RHONY OG had recently lost her on-off boyfriend of two years, Dennis Shields, in 2018, per People. Her relationship with Paul soon became serious when they moved in together in September 2019. In 2021, Paul proposed to Bethenny, but not before they called it quits for the first time.

Although Bethenny and Paul’s decision to end their engagement shocked some fans, others weren’t fazed due to their history. According to People, the pair briefly split up in October 2020. Bethenny didn’t give an exact reason for the split at the time but shared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that it was “not negative” to say about Paul and that they had a “great relationship.”

The couple reunited in January 2021 and were engaged two months later. Alas, their 2024 split seems to be the end for them, as Bethenny has other matters on her mind. In April, the Bravo vet shared with her fans that her mother, Bernadette Birk, died of lung cancer at age 73.

“My mother has died of lung cancer,” Bethenny shared on April 20, 2024. “She was complex, in pain, isolated, and had demons. "She was the most stunning woman you have ever seen, who left her abusive home as quickly as I ran from mine."

“She was brilliant, funny, cultured and wise — yet suffered a lifelong eating disorder, alcoholism, abuse, smoking, and self-destruction," the caption continued, adding elsewhere, “Goodbye mom, Bonnie, Bernadette. You did the best you could, and you are free and at peace.”

Since sharing the news of her mother’s passing, Bethenny used her social media platform to honor her mother, sharing photos of her mom with her and Bethenny’s daughter, Bryn Hoppy.