Bethenny Frankel responded on TikTok to Dina Manzo and Dina’s daughter, Lexi Ioannou, after they accused Frankel of not crediting Ioannou’s Nou brand over pumps she says were gifted. Frankel countered that linking to similar items sold out is standard social m
Bethenny Frankel’s latest “Outfit of the Day” moment didn’t stay on the runway for long. She found herself in a full-blown back-and-forth after Dina Manzo and Manzo’s daughter, Lexi Ioannou, accused her of failing to credit their brand, Nou, for a pair of pumps Frankel wore in recent social content.
Frankel. 55. addressed the dispute in a TikTok posted Saturday. May 16. insisting she “doesn’t usually respond to things like this” but framing it as a “business lesson.” The timing matters: the argument began Friday after Frankel showcased a strapless. polka dot sundress and received compliments about her black peep-toe pumps.. She then pointed fans to a Bloomingdales pair for “the same look,” listing a $375 price tag.
That’s where Ioannou, 30, says the problem started.. In an Instagram video on Friday. she claimed. “Bethenny Frankel is a weirdo. ” adding: “I sent her a pair of shoes from Nou almost a year ago because I look up to her.” She also described herself as “a female entrepreneur [and from the] Bravo universe like me.” Ioannou said Frankel never tagged Nou despite wearing the pumps in her social media content.
Ioannou also accused Frankel of a more pointed choice once the post started to spread.. She complained that after Frankel posted a video that “is going viral,” people were asking where the shoes were from.. Instead of linking the shoes to Nou. Ioannou said Frankel linked a dupe with an affiliate link—arguing it let Frankel “get that bag” by sending followers somewhere else.. Manzo and Ioannou both portrayed the sequence as particularly unfair: they said the shoes were gifted from a woman-founded brand. while Frankel allegedly profited from directing her audience away from that brand.
Manzo. meanwhile. escalated the critique in her own Instagram Stories Friday. quoting a familiar Real Housewives sparring style while making her point.. “Wow Bethenny Wow!!” Manzo wrote.. “So odd of you to post a dupe of your GIFTED @shopnou shoes instead of giving a young woman entrepreneur credit.” She added. “You wear them often so we know you like them??”
Frankel later put out an “Outfit of the Day” video that credited Nou.. But in Saturday’s TikTok response, she pushed back on the idea that linking elsewhere was inappropriate.. She insisted linking out to a retailer offering a similar item is standard practice. explaining that “The shoes were sold out so we linked to something similar because the audience gets frustrated when there’s something they can’t buy.”
She continued. “Why would I wear something and talk about it. if they can’t buy it?” Frankel then addressed what she said was the pushback from Ioannou herself. telling viewers. “This female owner decided to post a scathing video of me.. Her body. her choice.” Frankel also claimed she has “stated multiple times” that if someone sends her something. she has “no obligation to link. like. use. wear. tag. ” adding. “I can do whatever I want.”
The dispute didn’t end with the shoe-credit issue either.. Frankel suggested she is now reluctant to support Ioannou’s brand. predicting that many brands would take note of the video.. She said. “There are about a hundred brands that will watch this video that will message her to tell her how much product I move. ” then rattled off examples from her own history. including “How many sprinkle cookies for Melissa Gorga. how many dresses for Ramy Brook. how many pairs of jeans for Guess.” Her message was blunt: “I move a lot of product because I don’t bulls***.”
Framing Ioannou’s approach as counterproductive. Frankel argued that the criticism was coming from “whining and being a cry baby. ” which she said is playing the “short game” rather than building a lasting business.. “It means you’re not a real business person.. You have a lot to learn,” she quipped.. She added. “I would have worn all of the shoes on your site and you would have sold thousands of pairs and made hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
She ended with a point about ownership and decision-making: “My account. My body. My choice. Once you send those shoes into my house, my shoes. You’re welcome!”
A pattern runs through the back-and-forth: Frankel wore the pumps in her content and then linked a $375 Bloomingdales alternative for “the same look. ” while Ioannou and Manzo emphasized that the pumps were “gifted” from Nou and that Frankel didn’t tag Nou before the criticism went viral; Frankel. in turn. said sold-out availability is why she linked a similar option and stressed she has no obligation to tag or link items after receiving them.
Us Weekly reached out to Ioannou’s representative for comment.
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