She walked for Sports Illustrated as part of Miami Swim Week.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”credit-name” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Black Han Sans|||on|||||” text_text_color=”#000000″ header_4_font=”|||on|||||” header_4_text_align=”center” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]
Words by Lydia Spencer-Elliot<\/strong><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2218051174.jpg” alt=”Bethenny Frankel” title_text=”Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Runway Show At W South Beach – Red Carpet\/Backstage” force_fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] In news that is probably a surprise to no one, another woman is being judged for what they choose to do with their body. In this instance, it\u2019s former Real Housewives of New York City cast member Bethenny Frankel who, god forbid, wore a thong bikini while walking at Sports Illustrated Swimsuit\u2019s Swim Week 2025 runway show in Miami at the ripe age of 54.<\/p>\n Frankel took to the runway in a range of looks: a cheetah-print one-piece swimsuit, a denim bikini and cowboy hat, and most divisively \u2014 a pink and black polka dot thong bikini. Someone call the church elders. She looked amazing. Strong. Happy. But the judgement was immediate and significantly centered around the fact Frankel is a mother to 15-year-old Bryn, who she shares with her ex-husband Jason Hoppy. Yup, the mum guilt \u2014 where women are made to feel ashamed of their actions because they don\u2019t match society\u2019s expectations of a parent \u2014 was rife.<\/p>\n Other younger, child-free models, like influencer Alix Earl, or Olympian Ilona Maher faced markedly less vitriol. Still, Frankel stood strong when fans asked \u201cwhat would her daughter think\u201d of the her choice to walk the runway.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2218053235.jpg” alt=”Bethenny Frankel” title_text=”Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Runway Show – Runway” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] \u201cWhat would my daughter think of me being in a thong in a fashion show\u2026\u201d Frankel responded defiantly on Instagram. \u201cThe answer is proud.\u201d Yup, Bryn video called her mother immediately after the performance to gush about how fantastic it had been to see her on the stage. \u201c\u2018Mama\u2026I saw you, you did so good!\u2019\u201d Frankel recalled the 15-year-old said: \u201c\u2018You have such a cute tush mama\u2026\u2018You look like you\u2019re 30 years old.\u2019\u201d No cowering teenage embarrassment to be seen, much to the seething internet\u2019s surprise \u2014 a testament to Frankel\u2019s mutually broad-minded relationship with her child, that this display of her confidence and physicality wasn\u2019t a big deal until social media got involved.<\/p>\n Elsewhere, exhaustingly, Frankel was forced to address her weight in an additional post, after fans continually remarked on her appearance. \u201cAs the internet is so fascinated with my age, my weight, my face, my hair, I can tell you with certainty, every woman that was with me on that stage did not look that way two hours prior,\u201d she said. \u201cThe images you and your daughters see of women, Kim Kardashian, Beyonc\u00e9… that there is a lot of work that goes into that, a lot of glam, a lot of make-up, a lot of contouring.\u201d<\/p>\n In the days after the show it was revealed that Frankel had extension put in her hair, had her locks dyed with honey-coloured highlights and wore bronzed makeup to give her a glow for the runway. She also underwent a series of non-invasive body sculpting treatments and hooked herself up to IV drips. But it was walking that she attributed her health to \u2014 between 6,000 and 10,000 per day. She walked, she slept, she ate whole foods, in order to feel energised and balanced \u2014 rather than skinny.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”custom-quote” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font=”Libre Bodoni|||on|||||” header_2_text_align=”center” header_2_text_color=”#333333″ header_2_font_size=”40px” header_2_line_height=”1.2em” global_colors_info=”{}”] Frankel explained that, although she now has a good relationship with food and exercise, she spent much of her 30s suffering the opposite. \u201cI was fixated, I would binge and then starve, eat out of self loathing and being lonely\u2026\u201d she said, adding she didn\u2019t want her followers to put themselves through the same cycle of self-punishment: \u201cAllow yourselves to have what you want and not beat yourself up when you indulge,\u201d she told her fans, who were asking her for diet tips and workout regimes thanks to the swimwear show.<\/p>\n Following her bum-baring appearance, Frankel joked about the awkwardness of dropping her daughter off at school after \u201ceveryone\u201d had seen her in the divisive g string bikini. \u201cWhy is everyone acting weird towards me?\u201d the reality star asked in the TikTok lip syncing video, shared in lighthearted recognition of the absolute onslaught of criticism that had followed in the days before. \u201cI can imagine fewer dads are being sent to pickup duty,\u201d one person commented on the video. \u201cPut your head up, you rocked it,\u201d another commenter, correctly, added.<\/p>\n Bravely, Frankel didn\u2019t retreat into her shell after the wrath of the internet bore down on her for simply wearing a bikini. In the days that followed, Frankel shared another video of herself dancing around the kitchen in, you guessed it, a thong swimsuit while she made herself a coffee. \u201cIf the internet says I\u2019m a supermodel? Who am I to argue?\u201d she said, focussing on the significant positive response she also received for the runway show. \u201cWe all need this energy!!!\u201d Jeff Bezos\u2019 wife Lauren S\u00e1nchez even remarked.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2218042243.jpg” alt=”Bethenny Frankel” title_text=”Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Runway Show At W South Beach – Runway” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] In a separate, more emotional video, Frankel reflected on the runway experience and the undeserving ageist fallout that had ensued: \u201cWhether you\u2019re 18 or 98, everyone deserves to feel alive, happy, and free,\u201d she wrote. \u201cFreedom means living your own truth on your terms at any age.\u201d If only body shamers could remember that. <\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ divider_position=”center” divider_weight=”2px” module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text module_class=”credit-texts” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|||on|||||” text_orientation=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”] Photos: <\/b>\u00a0<\/b>Getty<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u2018My daughter would be proud,\u2019 reality star responded <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":10525,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"guestgrazia","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10514"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10514\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10528,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10514\/revisions\/10528"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}‘my daughter would be proud.’<\/h2>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]