The man who rescued the Bravo reality star says the incident, which happened off the Nantucket coast, was entirely scripted.
Bravo reality star Bethenny Frankel is being called in to question for her claims that she was lost at sea for 20 hours last month.
Tim Russell, the man who came to Frankel and her husband, Jason Hoppy’s aide off of the coast of Nantuckett, MA, now says that the group, which also included a Bravo camera team and Frankel’s therapist, staged the entire event for cameras.
“When Tim got there, he saw the boat was fine,” said one report. “There were 9 people on the boat. Bethenny, Jason, the therapist and a Bravo film crew of 6. They did not need a tow as the boat was fine. They simply followed Tim and his wife back to the shore with no towing and a functioning GPS.”
Frankel originally told the tale to E! Online, saying “I was on a sailboat on Saturday that was supposed to be eight hours and it ended up being 20 because were lost at sea.”
She also claimed that the Coast Guard had to be called out to come to their rescue. “The captain had to call the Coast Guard and we were hit by a big wave. It was very scary. It was traumatic. Absolutely traumatic.”
But, Russell said help was never needed. “The Coast Guard did not assist, as there was nothing for them to do,” says the report. “Tim went out because he respects the water, and was unsure of the problem. Bethenny wasted everyone’s time, mocked the USCG, and belittled Tim Russell.”
The reality star responded via her Twitter and Facebook accounts, writing, “Let’s review this past week’s idiocies: 1.) I have a”nice”coach 2.) I’m getting divorced 3.) I’m pregnant 4.) I lied about being lost at sea. Anything else?”
Frankel’s Skinnygirl cocktails also received some negative press after reports said they were pulled from Whole Foods’ shelves for failing to meet the company’s standards for natural products.
Beam, the company that owns Skinnygirl later said that the products were not pulled, but that the grocery store decided not to reorder the product.
