I Heart Bethenney

I find the title of "The Real Housewives..." to be somewhat comical. If they really wanted to show what "Real Housewives" of America do on a daily basis they would be showing us over weight, average looking women doing laundry, cleaning up after their family, wearing clothes from Ann Taylor Loft and going grocery shopping and not well-maintenanced, couture-wearing women who lunch, whose Nannys watch the kids and housekeepers do the laundry. The latter makes for a much more interesting show, of course, and one that I have been watching since day one - when Lauri was single and "struggling" to make ends meet and Jo was dating Slade. I also find it comical that during the first season the majority of the cast members were not even "wives" at all, but now I am just being picky. After watching every episode, of every city (OC, Atlanta (loved me some NeNe until she went Michael Jackson on us with the nose job), New York, New Joisey and now DC), I have to admit that the ladies of New York have become my favorite...even with wack-a-doo Kelly as part of the cast.

Among the unmarried "wives" of New York was a quick witted, top-heavy, brunette named Bethenney Frankel, and from her first hilarious one-liner, I was a big fan. Although she obviously lived an above average life than most New York women her age, us "normal" ladies could relate to her. She was that one person on the show that you really wanted to be friends with. You were pulling for her throughout the seasons to find true love, and have the life she had always been dreaming of...and finally this year she did.

On her spin-off show "Bethenney Getting Married?" we watched her journey through pregnancy, plan a wedding in 4 weeks at 7 months pregnant, get married (no more question mark!), and finally have her baby in the penultimate episode. We also got a glimpse into her weekly visits to her shrink...so much for doctor patient confidentiality!

I normally have a hard time with people being so public with their private lives - don't get me wrong, I watch a lot of reality tv, and it if wasn't for these people letting us into their private lives I would have read a lot more books these last few years - but there is something about Bethenney that makes me actually care about what happens in her life. I feel like as a new mom myself I can totally relate to everything she was going through...all the emotional and physical changes of being pregnant, and then becoming a mom and your life changing like you never thought it could.

Finally someone on television was showing what it really is like to carry a child for 9 months (well, 8 in both of our cases), and that labor is NOTHING like it is in the movies. I, and all of my close Mommy friends, could related to everything Bethenney was going through - the swollen body, the sleep deprivation, the pornstar boobs, the unequivocal love you have for your child and mostly the uncontrollable sobbing. I especially love that they highlighted how her entire persona changed after giving birth, and that her loved ones recognized it too. Becoming a mother definitely makes you a much more calm, patient, nurturing woman and we all witnessed that change in Bethenney for sure.

I loved the fact that she brought Brynn home in a Carter's sleep n play that my daughter also had - I totally expected something fancy. And we all know how it feels to be without your "My Breast Friend" or Boppy...how do you survive! Watching her pumping in the last episode definitely triggered some trippy flashbacks to me sitting in my glider every 3 hours, in my dark condo playing Bookworm on my iPhone with the "gagung gagung gagung" noise from the pump in the background.

My only issue I have with Bethenney is the fact that she talks in her last episode about motherhood being so hard...while she is handing the baby off to the Nanny! You think it is hard then, try it with no hired help and then get back to us. But other than that, I love her! She is constantly a topic of discussion at my weekly Mommy & Me class, and will be missed now that season 1 is over. I am sure when I watch RH of DC on DVR Friday mornings I will not require tissues like every episode of BGM did!

Hopefully she will ditch the Real Housewives franchise for good and come back with "Bethenney Having #2?"

And can we talk about Jason Hoppy? Husband and daddy perfection...