- Bernadette Birk is a designer and the mother of author and reality actress, Bethenny Frankel
- The 74-year-old was married to Robert Frankel and John Parisella but both marriages ended in divorce
- She and her daughter whom she had with her first husband have a bad relationship that may never be repaired
Bernadette Birk is an interior designer which makes her a successful entrepreneur yet her fame and popularity is through her daughter, Bethenny Frankel, the reality TV star, author, and entrepreneur.
Aside from this, she and her daughter have a fallout that has affected their relationship.
Bernadette Birk And Her Daughter, Bethanny Frankel May Never Reconcile
Bernadette and her daughter, Bethenny fell out years ago. Having given birth to Bethenny when she was twenty years, the two did not have an easy relationship and this would eventually affect them years later.
In fact, they had a feud for many years that they had to call a truce in 2016 to enable Bryn, Bethenny’s daughter who was six years old at the time to meet her grandmother. Sadly, it never solved their problems.
Accordingly, Bethenny reveals in her tell-all memoir, A Place of Yes: 10 Rules for Getting Everything You Want Out of Life how she suffered from her mother’s eating disorders as well as alcoholism and violence. Though she later said it did not affect her, it would form part of the reasons for her estrangement from her mother.
Bethenny had to step into adult shoes by cleaning up her mother’s vomit whenever she was drunk as well as performing the roles of an adult instead of enjoying her childhood.
Moving forward, Bethanny also alleged that her mother took her to Las Vegas Night clubs when she was only thirteen, as the family moved from place to place. For all these claims that her daughter made, Bernadette found them offensive.
She refuted them. In her defense, Bernadette said her daughter is making all these accusations for fame and saying the truth will undo all the lies she has told.
In recent years, Bernadette has openly scoffed at her daughter who she once referred to as a moron and liar. Considering the back and forth between mother and daughter, they may never have a cordial relationship as both of them have made clear.
Other Facts About Bethanny Frankel’s Mother
1. A Look Into The Background of Bernadette Birk
Details about Bernadette suggest that she is of Welsh descent even though details about her early life are vague. However, from snippets her daughter gave about her age, Bernadette was born in 1950, since she had Bethanny on November 4 1970 at the age of 20.
Moving forward, she is generally known as an interior designer. While not much is also known about her business, she revealed in many interviews that she once left her career to be a stay-at-home mom and look after her daughter till she went to a boarding house.
2. Bernadette Birk Has Been Married Twice
Robert Frankel
Bernadette was married to Robert Frankel, a professional horse competitor, and trainer in 1970. He won feats such as the five-time Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer. It is through this marriage that she had her daughter, Bethenny.
Away from this, she made changes to her life after her marriage to the horse trainer, like changing from the Catholic faith to Judaism. Yet, this did not stop the couple from having strains in their marriage.
The marriage lasted till 1974, before sadly ending in a divorce. At the time of their divorce, Bethenny, their daughter was still little.
With regard to the real reason for their divorce, it remains unclear. However, there are speculations that Bernadette may have cheated on Robert with John Parisella, his friend and competitor in the horse industry.
Also, in snippets of her and Bethenny’s relationship, her daughter alleged that her parent’s marriage was not a smooth one, due to Bernadette’s alcoholism and violent arguments with Robert.
John Parisella
Following Bernadette’s divorce from Robert, she moved on with her life and got married to John Parisella, in 1975. He was also the same man that she was allegedly having an affair with, while she was still with her first husband. Like Robert, John(80 ) owned a horse stable in Saratoga Springs, New York.
Their marriage did not produce any child and it also did not last long as it ended in a divorce.
3. Her Daughter, Bethenny Frankel Also Had a Troubled Marriage
The news of Bernadette’s marriage in 2010 with Jason Hoppy became a major item on the Real Housewives of New York City spin-off Bethenny Ever After. The two first met at a nightclub while she was still shooting for RHONYC.
Through their union, they welcomed their daughter Bryn Hoppy, in 2011. However, the couple soon announced their divorce in 2012, after months of people speculating about their troubled marriage.
Following the collapse of Bernadette’s daughter’s marriage, Bethenny and Hoppy had a divorce battle that dragged on for four years. The major issues were custody of her daughter and alimony.
In 2016, they settled their divorce out of court, while she continued to pay child support to Hoppy. This changed when she got full legal custody of her daughter in 2021.
4. Bernadette Birk’s Net Worth
The 74-year-old mother of Bethenny has a net worth of $1 million. She made this amount from her interior design business.
While Bernadette’s net worth remains elusive, her daughter made an impressive net worth of $80 million making her one of the most successful actresses among the Real Housewives of New York City cast.
Moving on, she garnered such an amount from her many businesses such as Skinnygirl cocktail, real estate, and her book publications. When she sold Skinnygirl in 2011 to Beam Global, it was made apparent that the writer and reality star had tackled a big financial deal.
See Worth: Harriet Tendler Is Charles Bronson’s First Wife: What Really Happened Between Them?
5. What Is Bernadette Up To?
Except for interviews that she grants, not much is known about her career and whereabouts. Unlike her daughter who has launched businesses and gotten engaged to Paul Bernon, she has not revealed whether she moved on after her divorce from Parisella.
