Bethenny Frankel has parlayed being a cast member of 'The Real Housewives of New York City' into a flourishing business empire and reality TV show franchise. Now, however, questions are being asked about how "real" her reality show is. Are some scenes faked for the cameras?

Last month Frankel said that she and husband Jason Hoppy were lost at sea off of the Massachusetts coastline for 20 hours: "It was traumatic. Absolutely traumatic."

Sounds scary, right? Well, maybe not. Frankel's rescuer Tim Russell says that she was never lost at sea, or in any danger, and that the whole thing was a phoney, staged for the benefit of the Bravo camera crew on board the boat with her.

Before she was a 'Real Housewife of New York City' or a millionaire entrepreneur, Bethenny Frankel was a cook for the show 'Rescue Me.' Tuesday on 'The View' (weekdays, syndicated on ABC), 'Rescue Me' star Denis Leary and Frankel were reunited, and Leary reminded her of a particular nickname he thinks gives him a claim to a slice of Frankel's "Skinnygirl" cocktail empire, which she sold for $120 million in April.

"I want a cut on the 120 million," said Leary. "First of all, I always talk about myself, and you probably remember this, I used to refer to myself as 'The Skinny Bitch.' That's my nickname for myself. Okay?" No dice. Frankel reminded him her imprint is Skinnygirl, not bitch. Leary said he'd settle for just a million.

'The Real Housewives of New York City' is missing its most recognizable face this season without Bethenny Frankel. But that hasn't hurt the show, said Jill Zarin on Wednesday's 'The Talk' (weekdays, syndicated on CBS). Zarin said she was happy for Frankel and all of her post-show success, and then got into the details that make the show popular, the interpersonal friction between the different housewives.

At the insistence of Leah Remini, Zarin addressed her troubles with fellow housewife Ramona Singer. "Have you sat her down, seriously, off camera and said, 'Ramona, come and watch the show and look how you look," said Remini. Zarin said she was having problems with Singer lying about small details, like whether Zarin owned the Ferrari she drove in season one.

Remini was so passionate about the feud that Holly Robinson Peete asked Zarin if she thought Remini would make a good addition to the cast. Zarin said she would, and Remini seemed open to the idea, saying she loves the show.

Any bond between Bethenny Frankel and Jill Zarin is "over, there's nothing left," said Frankel on last night's 'The Real Housewives of New York City' (Thu., 10PM ET on BRAVO). Upon hearing of Frankel's engagement, Zarin tried to wish her well, but she played the Ice Queen card.

Watch the video after the jump.

It's a girl fight on 'The Real Housewives of New York City' (Thu., 10PM ET on Bravo). Yes, this probably isn't very surprising news. After all, the entire point of the show is to let us watch girl fights. But on the latest episode, an exceptionally nasty argument broke out between Bethenny Frankel and Ramona Singer. It was some high-level cattiness.

Watch the video after the jump.

Bethenny fighting with her friends? Shocking. Apparently she and Jill were best friends who used to talk "five times a day." On last night's 'Real Housewives of New York City' (Thu., 10PM ET on BRAVO) the two argued -- over the phone -- about what ended their friendship.

"I will never forget what you said to me: 'You need to get a hobby'," says Jill. "Well guess what? My hobby was my husband got cancer... and the people who love me called my husband directly."

"I sent flowers," responds Bethenny. "I didn't realize your husband was that ill." Check out Jill's response.

Watch the video after the jump.

A very public location didn't keep housewives Bethenny Frankel and LuAnn de Lesseps from engaging in a verbal smackdown. On last night's 'The Real Housewives of New York City' (Thu., 10PM ET on BRAVO), LuAnn tried to keep things nice -- briefly.

LuAnn: Let's talk about it later.
Bethenny: What, are we at church? We're at a fashion show.

Bethenny didn't hold back, saying, "I'm telling you to your face -- I don't like you, I don't trust you and I think you're a snake." And she wasn't finished.

Watch the video after the jump.

"Ramona's way too freaking old to be wearing a bikini," declares Jill Zarin, rolling her eyes. (Truer words have never been uttered.) And so begins season three of 'The Real Housewives of New York City.'

The relatively uneventful (you might even say disappointing) premiere opened on a yacht Ramona had borrowed from a friend for a day of "girls only" fun. In true 'Housewives' fashion, the event quickly evolved into an emotional roller coaster as Ramona, who, after likening her newly shorn self to a "younger Cameron Diaz," laughed, cried, yelled and pouted while the boat putted along some Hamptons' waterway.

Noticeably absent was Bethenny, who, after a major falling out with Jill over what seems to be nothing more than a misunderstanding, was busy posing naked on a Manhattan rooftop for an "I'd rather go naked than wear fur" PETA ad. "I was BFFs with Bethenny" fumed Jill "but she didn't deserve me as a friend."

It may be a cliché, but it's also completely true of the drama that unfolds in tonight's third season premiere of 'The Real Housewives of New York City' versus the hijinks of seasons past: You ain't seen nothing yet.

The opening moments of the premiere (11PM ET, Bravo) lull us into thinking housewives Ramona, Jill and Countess LuAnn are getting along, as they set sail on a little yachting excursion in the Hamptons, but we don't even make it half an hour into the episode before LuAnn starts a fight with Ramona about an allegedly rude exchange with Ramona's hubby, Mario.

We chatted with Bethenny Frankel this week about the new season, the new feuds and the new additions to her life, namely her fiancée Jason and baby-to-be; her upcoming 'Real Housewives' spin-off, 'Bethenny Gets Married'; and her thriving career as an author and cocktail entrepreneur.

'Real Housewives of New York City' (11PM, Bravo) season 3 premiere
Oh, it's on! The season opens with Jill and LuAnn joining Ramona on a Hamptons boating excursion, but they don't make it more than a few minutes into the episode before the claws come out and Jill is riffing on the inappropriateness of Ramona's skimpy bikini while LuAnn picks at Ramona for her rude hubby's behavior. And that's small stuff compared to the tension-filled get together the snooty Countess has with tell-it-like-it-is Bethenny, as LuAnn calls Bethenny out on some catty comments from last season, and Bethenny calls LuAnn, among other things, a drag queen. We also learn that one-time BFFs Bethenny and Jill are on the outs, and a sneak peek at the rest of the season shows Bethenny again butting heads with crazy Kelly. It's a good thing our favorite preggers, nekkid-posing, Skinny Girl chef Bethenny is getting her own spin-off series on Bravo ... this show isn't big enough for her and the other NYC divas.

Bethenny Frankel appears to have it all: fame, fortune, Skinnygirl Margaritas -- everything, that is, except for her own reality series.

Until now.

Frankel, one of the breakout stars of Bravo's 'Real Housewives of New York,' is set to star in her own series called 'Bethenny's Getting Married?', which will presumably follow Frankel's engagement to Jason Hoppy, according to E! (yes, the question mark is intentional).

The Bravo network has had a lot of success with reality TV, especially the Real Housewives of Orange County, which begat the Real Housewives of New York City, which begat the Real Housewives of Atlanta ... and in 2009, the Real Housewives of New Jersey. It's been quite a year for the women, and believe me, they all made news.

There were hit songs, wigs being pulled, economic strife, dueling fashion shows, potential husbands dying suddenly ... and that was just on one installment. Let's take a look back, show by show, shall we, starting with the newest bunch of merry wives, the Jersey girls. Their specialty was table flipping.

The last time we saw Bethenny Frankel, LuAnn de Lesseps, Ramona Singer and Jill Zarin of 'The Real Housewives of New York City' at the show's second season reunion, they confessed they would kick off cast mate Kelly Bensimon if given the chance.

They didn't get their wish.

Inside TV recently bumped into Kelly and her two daughters backstage at the Z100 Jingle Ball concert in Madison Square Garden. Bensimon revealed to us that she was there filming scenes for the show's third season finale.

Bethenny Frankel has been busy making news. First, she was feuding with the other women on The Real Housewives of New York City. Then, she was replaced on Real Housewives by Sonja Morgan because Bethenny is getting her own Bravo show. Last week, she announced her engagement to Jason Hoppy. Today, Bethenny's confirmed that she's pregnant... and yes, Jason is the father.

Bethenny is two months along and claims she would have preferred keeping the baby news quiet until she'd gotten through her first trimester. It's understandable because it's her first baby and some people are superstitious about saying anything too soon.

BF is nobody's BFF these days... or so it seems. Just days after Bravo announced that three reality stars were getting spinoffs of their own, one of them has made news again. Bethenny Frankel is out of The Real Housewives of New York York City and Sonja Morgan has been added.

Now, this could be as simple as Bethenny is moving on to star in her own show as was announced. However, there are rumors that in the few episodes she's done for the new season of Real Housewives, Bethenny has been feuding with the other ladies.