Bethenny Frankel has spent much of this year being open about her health struggles. Her latest update flips the script. In an Instagram video posted Monday, August 3, the Real Housewives of New York City alum told fans that a team of doctors has concluded she was misdiagnosed with a major condition.
“I really don’t want to tell you this, but I have to tell you this, because it could help one of you or several of you,” she began.
What She Actually Said
Frankel, 55, explained she had recently joined what she described as a legitimate medical network, one where teams of doctors cross-reference lab results, supplement intake, and other health data rather than working off a single visit.
“They have said that I have been misdiagnosed with something pretty major,” she said. “And they are pretty resolved.”
She was careful to distinguish this group from the kind of wellness industry skepticism she has criticized elsewhere. “It’s very, very legitimate,” she said, adding it was not some “nonsense vanity concierge doctor” operation.
Frankel did not name which condition was reportedly misdiagnosed. It is not clear from her statement whether this involves the kidney disease she disclosed in January, the POTS or long COVID diagnoses from 2023, or something else entirely. Speculating on which one it is would be guessing, and Frankel has not filled in that detail publicly.
Her Message: Be Thorough
Rather than dwelling on frustration, Frankel used the moment to push a broader point about healthcare skepticism, including skepticism toward the sources many people now turn to first.
“I’m very confused because I was sort of operating with the idea that I do have this. I don’t wanna throw anybody under the bus,” she said. “I tried to do the right thing, and it’s very confusing. I just think that there’s nothing we should be more thorough about than our medical care or our health.”
She was specific about where she thinks people go wrong. “Don’t believe everything you hear on the internet. Don’t believe everything that chat tells you,” she said, referring to AI chatbots, before noting how often people self-diagnose conditions like gluten intolerance or gut issues without proper testing. “Do your research,” she wrote in her caption.
That advice cuts in an interesting direction given her own story. Her caution about self-diagnosis is really an argument for more medical oversight, not less. A misdiagnosis, by her account, came from a professional setting too, which is part of why she is pushing people toward second opinions and cross-referenced results rather than away from doctors altogether.
Her Health History This Year
Frankel’s openness about her health is not new. In a January TikTok, she revealed a specialist diagnosed her with stage 2 chronic kidney disease after blood work consistently showed low kidney function.
“He said to me, ‘You have stage 2 chronic kidney disease,’” she recalled, explaining the cause was unclear but could be autoimmune, or connected to a severe allergic reaction she survived years earlier that may have damaged her kidneys.
According to the Mayo Clinic, stage 2 chronic kidney disease involves a mild loss of kidney function and can bring symptoms like nausea, fatigue, appetite loss, and sleep trouble. Managing blood pressure and regular monitoring are typically used to keep the disease from advancing.
Frankel was also diagnosed with long COVID and the autoimmune disorder POTS back in 2023. At the time, she framed sharing her diagnoses publicly as a way to encourage others to get their own bloodwork done, saying, “Maybe this is something I’ll have to deal with forever, but I just wanted to tell you because I think it’s important to go get all your bloodwork done.”
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