Bethenny Frankel Not Lying About Being Lost at Sea, Says Bravo

Network shoots down allegations that reality star faked the waterways mishap

By Marc Malkin Oct 13, 2011 7:05 PMTags
Bethenny Frankel Pena/Hall/INFphoto.com

Let's go to the videotape!

That's what Bravo is saying in defense of Bethenny Frankel.

The network insists allegations that she faked her lost at sea adventure are false...

"It is accurate that Bethenny, Jason [Hoppy] and their therapist were stranded at sea when the navigation on their boat broke during a taping for the new season of Bethenny Ever After," Bravo said in a statement released earlier today. "The Coast Guard referred a private tow vessel who eventually led their boat out. When people see the episode, they will certainly see for themselves that this was very real."

The network has not announced a date for the season premiere on the show.

The captain of the private towing service has accused Frankel of staging the crisis, saying that they were never in any danger because the GPS was working.

Frankel first told me about the frightening experience just a couple of days after it happened.

"[W]e were hit by a big wave," she said at the time. "It was very scary. It was traumatic. Absolutely traumatic."

Frankel claims they were "lost at sea" for about 20 hours.

She tweeted earlier this week, "I will ALWAYS be honest with my fans."