Bethenny Frankel Hits Back at Critics After Wearing ‘Thong’ for Miami Swim Week

After the 54-year-old reality star walked the catwalk in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2025 runway show in Miami this past weekend, she was apparently hit with some backlash about wearing a “thong” during the event.

“Some miserable people said, ‘What would your daughter say?’ and I know because the peanut just FaceTimed me,” she said in a Reel posted to Instagram. “And she said, ‘Mama! I saw you, you did so good! And you have such a cute toosh Mama!'”

The Real Housewives of New York City alum then added that her daughter Bryn, 15, said she looked “30 years-old.”

“It was so sweet, so we know how my daughter would feel. She’s at an age where kids have hormones and they’re developing and it’s the skin and it’s the bodies and they’re not used to their new bodies and they’re not comfortable in their own skin and other kids can be so cruel,” she said.

While Bryn wasn’t able to attend the runway to watch her mother in person, Frankel admitted she wished she was there.

“I wish she were there with this group [of friends] because like, the body positivity, and the women like, owning their bodies, was really just beyond like, embodying their bodies, was so amazing and I want that for her,” she said.

Overall, Frankel insisted to the haters that her daughter felt “proud” of her.

This wasn’t the only video she shared regarding her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2025 runway show. The mother-of-one also took to Instagram on MOnday to address the Internet’s fascination with her appearance.

“So I guess we have to discuss what I looked like on that runway because the internet is so fascinated with my age, my weight, my face, my hair,” she began.

“Listen, I can tell you with great certainty that every woman that was with me on that stage did not look that way two hours prior,” she continued, adding that there was “a lot of glam, a lot of contouring and a lot of lighting.”

“I look like a train wreck most of the time,” she said referring to her day-to-day, no make up look. “That’s me. That’s what I want.”

“My body is natural,” she later noted. “I don’t do weights. And the reason my body is natural is because the exercise I do and have always done for my body is natural. I’ll go months without exercise and definitely days without doing anything but I always come back to it.”

Frankel was among the likes of Alix Earle, Livvy Dunne, Jordan Chiles and more — see more photos in the gallery!