Who Is Bethenny Frankel's New Boyfriend? All About Businessman Tom Villante
Bethenny Frankel is ready to show off her new man.
The Real Housewives of New York City alum started dating businessman Tom Villante in 2024, making her first public appearance with him at the Yellowstone New York City premiere on Nov. 7. Franklin went Instagram official with the businessman just a few weeks later, sharing a snap of Villante building a fire in a fireplace for her ahead of Thanksgiving.
The reality star was previously married to Jason Hoppy, with whom she shares her daughter, Bryn. After a 10-year-long process, their divorce was finalized in January 2021. Shortly after, Frankel was engaged to Paul Bernon, whom she had been dating since 2018. However, the pair split in May 2024, with Frankel later revealing she had initiated the breakup.
Frankel has been open about her dating life since on her TikTok, where she's posted a number of videos giving relationship advice or sharing insights into her own endeavors.
"This is so critical in relationships that you say to yourself is this good or great? And if you don't know 'yes,' it's 'no,' " the Skinnygirl founder said in a video posted a week before the Yellowstone premiere. "If you have something in your body questioning your relationship, and it's even very good, but it's not great, that's not good enough."
So who is Bethenny Frankel's boyfriend? Here's everything to know about Tom Villante and his relationship with the reality TV alum.
After graduating with a degree in economics from Princeton University in 1989, Villante pursued a career in finance, per his LinkedIn. He started his career as an investment banker before moving into private equity, becoming a partner at The Seidler Company.
In 1999, he founded YapStone, a payment process plan company that converts bills traditionally paid by paper checks into online transactions. Since it was founded, the brand has raised over $110 million in capital, per Villante's bio on The Startup Conference.
Now, he serves as the chairman and CEO of YapStone, which is primarily based in Santa Monica, Calif.
Like Frankel, Villante was previously married. In 1996, the businessman tied the knot with Caitlin Anastasia Meeha in a ceremony in Greenwich, Conn., according to The New York Times.
Frankel ended her own marriage to Jason Hoppy in December 2012 after three years. However, their divorce wasn't complete until January 2021. Three months later, the entrepreneur became engaged to her fiancé, Paul Bernon. Following a three-year engagement, the two split shortly after the death of her mother at the end of April 2024, which she said led to her reevaluating her relationship.
"It was something that I kept to myself. It was something that I mourned on my own, and I did therapy, and I did the work ... I just didn't feel like it needed to be shared,” Frankel said on her Just B with Bethenny Frankel podcast in July.
She continued, "The break-up was something I initiated. I wasn't happy. Something needed to change. It was certainly mutual. The relationship had its challenges, and nobody dumped anybody."
Frankel and Villante were first spotted together in September 2024 when Page Six acquired photos of the two walking hand-in-hand on a date night in Santa Monica.
The couple smiled at the camera in matching outfits as Frankel wore a floor-length white dress while Villante donned a white collared shirt paired with grey dress pants.
Though he didn't walk the carpet with her, Villante joined Frankel at the season 5B premiere of Yellowstone on Nov. 7. They were photographed at the afterparty together alongside former NFL player Jay Cutler and his fiancée Samantha Robertson.
Frankel later posted several TikToks from the night, from her outfit to her hair transformation. In one of the videos, she was riding in a car and was joined by a man; however, she didn't reveal his face or who he was.
Frankel revealed her relationship for the first time on Nov. 23 when she posted a TikTok and Instagram Reel of Villante setting up a fire for her.
“POV: He buys you a luxury heated throw & builds a fire while you sip an overpriced latte…,” she wrote over a clip of the financier moving around the fireplace as she got cozy under a fluffy blanket and smiled at the camera.
She paired the video with the viral TikTok sound "Thank you to my man” from rapper Latto.
“Because #imworthit #andmyman #thankyoutomyman #weekend,” Frankel wrote in the caption.
Bethenny Frankel Reflects on Being the ‘Golden Era’ of Housewives: ‘You’re Welcome’
YahooFormer Real Housewives of New York star Bethenny Frankel isn’t shy about sharing her opinion. She loves to sound off about cosmetics, and other celebrities. However, once again, Bethenny is talking about RHONY.
As you may recall, after Bethenny departed RHONY, she started to take some shots at Bravo’s national treasure, Andy Cohen. This led to the Reality Reckoning movement, which sought to hold Andy and Bravo accountable for their allegedly toxic workplace.
Meanwhile, after a disastrous Season 13 that had no reunion, RHONY was rebooted. For the most part, viewers appreciated getting to know another new, and different, set of women. However, there have been some issues with Season 15. Well, at least according to Bethenny.
In a recent TikTok, Bethenny was lounging in bed, sharing her thoughts on RHONY. “Two different gay men have called me today to say Real Housewives of New York is unwatchable. ‘Take it away once,’ they say. I haven’t seen it and I don’t know the women, they seem lovely,” Bethenny stated. “I mean, I’m not blaming them at all, but there must be an art to the disaster because we were hot [a] ass mess. I’ve seen Ramona [Singer] sh*t on the floor, Sonja [Morgan] sh*t the bed and wear a diaper, Luann [de Lesseps] fall into the bushes.” Oh, how fondly longtime RHONY fans cherish those moments.
Bethenny continued, “I mean, my body – 50% alcohol content. I mean … Oh my God, the powers that be must be writhing in pain that we really were the golden era of the Housewives.” She added, “Trees grow high. They don’t grow to the sky though. You’re welcome.” What does that mean? Make it make sense.
“Shout out to my Housewives disaster Alma Mater. Shout out to Ramona, to Sonja, to Luann, to Dorinda [Medley], to Jill Zarin,” Bethenny stated. “And you know what? I’m giving a shout-out to Alex [McCord] and Simon [van Kampen]. They brought something to the table. The rest is all a blur,” she added.
Poor Carole Radziwill, Kelly Bensimon, and Tinsley Mortimer didn’t get a nod. Hopefully, they will recover from being snubbed by this “Golden Era” housewife.
Season 15 of Real Housewives of New York continues on Tuesdays at 9/8c on Bravo.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK THAT BETHENNY WAS PART OF THE “GOLDEN ERA” OF RHONY? ARE YOU WATCHING SEASON 15 OF THE SHOW?
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