Bethenny Frankel vs. Dina Manzo: The Shoe Drama Explained

What started as a pair of black peep-toe pumps has turned into one of the messiest — and most surprisingly instructive — feuds the Bravo universe has produced in a while. Bethenny Frankel is at the center of it, and she is absolutely not backing down.

The drama kicked off Friday, May 15, when Frankel posted a fit check from her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit social club appearance — a strapless polka dot sundress, coordinating heels, the whole look. Fans immediately started asking about the shoes. Instead of linking to the brand behind them, Frankel’s Instagram Story pointed followers to a similar pair from Black Suede Studio at Bloomingdale’s, priced around $345–$375, calling it “the same look.”

The problem? Those shoes weren’t just any shoes. They were Nou mules — gifted to Frankel nearly a year ago by Lexi Iannou, the 30-year-old daughter of Real Housewives of New Jersey alum Dina Manzo and founder of the women-owned shoe brand Nou.

“Bethenny Frankel Is a Weirdo”

Lexi didn’t sit on it. She posted an Instagram video that day laying out the whole situation — calmly at first, then with increasing frustration.

“Bethenny Frankel is a weirdo,” Lexi said. “I sent her a pair of shoes from Nou almost a year ago because I look up to her. She’s an entrepreneur, in the Bravo universe like me, and she’s been on Shark Tank.”

She said she understood that Frankel hadn’t tagged Nou the first few times she wore the shoes. That happens. What stung was what came next: a viral moment, hundreds of people asking about the shoes in the comments, and Frankel linking out to a dupe — one she earns an affiliate commission on.

“I guess she’s got to get that bag in some sort of way,” Lexi said. “So she got the shoes for free from a woman-founded brand — mine — and then she made money sending her followers somewhere else.”

She closed the video by calling Frankel a “weirdo” one more time, for good measure.

Dina Manzo was right behind her. “WOW BETHENNY WOW!!” she posted to her Instagram Stories over a screenshot of Frankel’s post. “So odd of you to post a dupe of your GIFTED @shopnou shoes instead of giving a young woman entrepreneur credit. You wear them often so we know you like them???”

Frankel’s Response: A Business Lesson Nobody Asked For

Frankel posted an OOTD video on Friday evening that did credit Nou — captioned with what read like a subtle dig: “Apparently I can’t get content out fast enough these days…” She later explained that her team always planned to credit the brand; they just hadn’t gotten to it yet when the first fit check went up.

But the real response came Saturday on TikTok, and Frankel did not hold back.

@bethennyfrankel

You’re welcome

♬ original sound – Bethenny Frankel

“I don’t usually respond to things like this, but I think there’s a business lesson here,” she said. Her explanation for the dupe link: the Nou shoes were sold out, and her audience gets frustrated when she promotes something they can’t actually buy. “Why would I wear something and talk about it if they can’t buy it?”

She then made her position on gifted products crystal clear. “I have stated multiple times that if you send me something, I have no obligation to link, like, use, wear, buy, tag. I can do whatever I want.”

And then she went there. “Playing the short game and whining and being a crybaby about something that didn’t go your way in business means you’re not a real business person. You have a lot to learn.”

She named names — not Lexi’s, but the brands she’s moved product for. “How many sprinkle cookies for Melissa Gorga, how many dresses for Ramy Brook, how many pairs of jeans for Guess — I move a lot of product because I don’t bulls***.”

The kicker? Frankel said Lexi had missed a massive opportunity. “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 signed off with a line that’s already living rent-free in the comments sections of a dozen recaps: “My account. My body. My choice. Once you send those shoes into my house, my shoes. You’re welcome.”

Dina Fires Back — Sort Of

After Frankel’s sidewalk strut video went up Saturday — leather outfit, coordinating pumps, very much her — Dina left a comment that was equal parts shade and self-promotion. “Better change back to your comfortable @shopnou_ heels,” she wrote. “Looks like you almost ate pavement there for a minute.”

When the comment drew attention, Dina framed it as friendly advice. “Just giving her some advice for the ‘long game’ but guess she didn’t like it?” she posted to her Stories. “I mean, she did trip.”

The Internet Weighs In

Frankel’s TikTok has not exactly been a love-fest in the comments. “Remember, someone helped you along the way,” one user wrote — a pointed reference to Frankel’s own early hustle building Skinnygirl. Another kept it simple: “Girl, just apologize.” A third raised a practical point that’s hard to argue with: “Just say this is a shoe and they are currently out of stock due to popularity. People are capable of finding similar shoes; no need to take a dupe.”

There’s a real debate buried in all of this — about what brands are actually owed when they gift product to influencers, about whether “sold out” justifies linking a competitor, about whether Frankel’s response helped or hurt her case. Frankel is legally right that she owes nothing. Whether that’s the whole story is a different question.

As for Lexi — she may have gotten the last word after all. After the drama flooded her brand with attention, she launched a limited-time pre-order for the exact Nou mules Frankel wore. Sometimes the “short game” has a longer tail than anyone expected.