PHOTOSRHONY's Biggest Financial Scandals — Bethenny Frankel’s Divorce, Sonja Morgan’s Bankruptcy And More!
July 3 2015, Published 1:27 p.m. ET
Life in the Big Apple can get pretty pricey, even for the ladies of The Real Housewives of New York City! And when you add a few financial scandals into the mix, your tab for living out your dreams in NYC will likely climb even higher.
Much like their fellow reality TV divas on the other Real Housewives franchises, basically all of your favorite RHONY girls have run into some form of money trouble. Yes, it can be a bit tough to keep up with all the bank account drama. But to refresh your memory, we’ve gathered all of the biggest RHONY financial scandals ever!
Ahead of her return to RHONY, Bethenny Frankel starred in a successful spinoff show with her estranged hubby, Jason Hoppy, and even had her own talk show. However, things turned ugly when the couple broke up, with the pair ending up wrapped in a nasty divorce battle as they attempted to split their finances and determine a custody agreement for their daughter, Bryn!
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Frankel was ordered by a judge in May to pay Hoppy -- for the second time -- $100,000 in attorney fees because he lacked “sufficient funds of his own to compensate counsel without depleting his assets” as the exes continue their divorce battle. And in documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, it was revealed that Frankel paid Hoppy a temporary base child support of $3,000, covered 97 percent of Bryn’s $600 preschool tuition each month, medical expenses and covered around another $900 worth of other extracurricular expenses for their daughter.
Frankel also faced a major lawsuit over her Skinnygirl margarita line that claimed that the product does not contain “all-natural” ingredients. However, the lawsuit was dismissed in May 2015.
But Frankel wasn’t always rolling in the big bucks! According to RadarOnline.com, before being cast of RHONY, Frankel was struggling so much financially that she only had a total of $8,000 at her disposal.
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Ramona Singer was blasted by many RHONY viewers for showering her daughter, Avery Singer, with tons of lavish gifts on the show! But the reality star remained unbothered by the criticism!
Sonja Morgan found herself in a dramatic money situation when she was sued by Hannibal Pictures for failing to raise money for a film that involved John Travolta. She was ultimately forced to file for bankruptcy due to the judgments hefty price tag, which rang in at a whopping $8.5 million. But a bankruptcy court judge eventually ruled that Morgan would be allowed to pay off her creditors.
During a recent episode of the show, Sonja talked about the stressful situation. “They secured a $7 million judgment against me and I have to pay every dollar of it,” she said. “There is a legal fee that goes into that because I filed a Chapter 11 to protect my assets.”
According to the New York Post, Aviva Drescher accused her ex-husband, Harry Dubin, of being behind on child support payments and other fees concerning their son, Harrison. Drescher claimed that her ex owed $300,000, and a bench warrant was issued for Dubin’s arrest in May 2012 due to his failure to show up to court over the missing child support payments. However, the warrant was eventually dropped.
Heather Thomson's Yummie Tummie shapewear line led to a lawsuit from Spanx founder Sarah Blakley in 2013. The suit came after the RHONY star sent Blakley a cease-and-desist letter, which accused Blakley of copying Thomson's patented three-panel camisoles.
Kelly Bensimon also faced some money woes when she was sued for allegedly copying a jewelry design from a former co-worker! What do you think about The Real Housewives of New York City ladies’ money issues? Tweet us @OKMagazine or let us know in the comments section below.
