Bethenny Frankel Wins MTV’s 2022 Reality Royalty Award: ‘The Shiniest Apple Is Sitting at the Top’

Real Housewives of New York City alum Bethenny Frankel was honored at the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards: UNSCRIPTED for her “legacy of reality greatness”

SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA: In this image released on June 5, Bethenny Frankel accepts the Reailty Royalty award onstage during the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards: UNSCRIPTED at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California and broadcast on June 5, 2022. (Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images)

Bethenny Frankel is officially Reality Royalty.

On Sunday, the star accepted the highest individual honor at the second annual MTV Movie & TV Awards: UNSCRIPTED on Sunday.

Paris Hilton presented the Reality Royalty Award to her former nanny, recalling the time she spent with a young Frankel after “she first moved to Los Angeles to pursue her dreams.”

When Frankel, 51, took to the stage, she told Hilton, 41: “You and I are OGs in this genre, and as you know, not everybody fits in the bad bitch genre. It’s a genre.”

She continued, “This is full circle — I took care of Paris when she was barely out of diapers. This is actually the announcement for our reality show where Paris changes my diapers. It’s called That’s Not Hot.”

Frankel went on to say, “Thank you, MTV. Thank you to the audience who has invested in a flawed yet always transparent person. I have overshot the mark. All I ever wanted was to make a difference in some way, leave a mark. I was a late bloomer, I wasn’t successful by any definition and was broke and bouncing checks well into my 30s.”

She then credited reality TV for serving as a “platform to authentically be myself, be honest about my flaws, my struggles, being broke and alone with no safety net. A place to ‘mention it all!’”

SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA: In this image released on June 5, Bethenny Frankel attends the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards: UNSCRIPTED at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California and broadcast on June 5, 2022. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for MTV)

Frankel told fans that reality TV is “accessible if you take it one mistake at a time and create your own authentic journey.”

“Being honest, flawed and unique is beautiful,” she continued. “I am here by living truthfully and doing what’s important to me on my own terms. You have taught me so many life lessons and have been on this incredible journey with me since day one. You have given me and my daughter a life I couldn’t have dreamed of.”

She added, “I’m grateful to you and to my team who supports me when it’s rough and exhausting and we all want to quit.”

She went on to thank Bravo, Andy Cohen and even her former The Real Housewives of New York City costars, saying, “Success comes from working hard and solidifying relationships and a level of trust and the right people betting that you are the horse that can run the distance.”

fter thanking her fiancé Paul Bernon, whom she called “the most loyal and loving partner I could ever have dreamed of,” she thanked her 12-year-old daughter Bryn Hoppy, whom she also brought to the show.

Calling the tween her “sweet peanut Bryn,” Frankel said, “I have given you everything and you hve given me back infinity. You are the little girl in people’s dreams. I love you.”

Bryn sweetly recorded the moment and smiled at Bernon after the acknowledgment.

Ending with a message for Bryn and anyone “who [has] a dream,” she said, “Make good choices, play the long game — we have to play checkers every day but this whole ride is one gigantic chess board. Choose your moves wisely and don’t go for the low-hanging fruit. The shiniest apple is sitting at the top. This is all a dream. You all go for yours.”

Last year’s inaugural Reality Royalty Award went to Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, Pauly “DJ Pauly D” DelVecchio, Jenni “JWoww” Farley, Vinny Guadagnino and the rest of the cast of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation.

Frankel earned the 2022 accolade 17 years after she first made an impression on reality fans as the runner-up on 2005’s The Apprentice: Martha Stewart.

But she really made a name for herself as an original cast member of Bravo’s The Real Housewives of New York City. Her three seasons on the show led to the spin-offs Bethenny Getting Married? and Bethenny Ever After….

She’s continued to perfect the reality TV arts and sciences with appearances on Shark Tank, as well as two more namesake shows: HBO Max’s The Big Shot with Bethenny and Bravo’s Bethenny and Fredrik.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 10: Bethenny Frankel attends the 2021 Z100 IHeartRadio Jingle Ball Press Room at Madison Square Garden on December 10, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Taylor Hill/FilmMagic,)

Tayshia Adams hosted the Movie & TV Awards: UNSCRIPTED from the Barker Hangar in Los Angeles.

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