‘RHONY’s Leah McSweeney Reveals How Bethenny Frankel Got Her On The Show Without Ever Meeting

Sophy Holland/Bravo

Bethenny Frankel and Leah McSweeney never met in real life, but the former ‘RHONY’ played a major role in bringing the newcomer onto the hit Bravo series.

Bethenny Frankel, 49, may not be on The Real Housewives of New York any longer but she still had a hand in casting this season of the hit Bravo series. HollywoodLife learned EXCLUSIVELY how the Skinnygirl founder was responsible for bringing newcomer Leah McSweeney, 37, onto season 12 of the reality show. The Married to the Mob streetwear fashion CEO dished with us on how she ended up on a chance encounter that landed her on the iconic series.

“I’ve never met Bethenny,” Leah explained. “An esthetician of mine contacted me and said, ‘Bethenny is one of my clients. She wants to know if you would ever be on the show because she follows you on Instagram,’ and I said, ‘Yeah, sure,’ and that was literally it.” After being officially cast on RHONY, Leah sent flowers to Bethenny to officially thank her for hook up. We asked the outspoken blonde if she planned on meeting up with the cocktail creator once the stay at home order has been lifted. “This is a while ago that I sent the flowers and she unfollowed me on Instagram, so I don’t know,” Leah admitted. “Maybe not, but I’m so grateful she gave my name, of course.”

As we previously reported, Luann de Lesseps told HollywoodLife in an EXCLUSIVE interview that she thinks Leah is “great” for the show. “She’s great, she’s downtown and she’s not afraid,” Luann said during our exclusive interview ahead of her festive cabaret Christmas show, Countess and Friends at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa on December 7. “She gets in there, and it’s not an easy group to come into. I think she holds her own, and at the same time she’s vulnerable.”

Be sure to catch Leah and all of her co-stars deal with the good times and drama this season on The Real Housewives of New York City which airs Thursdays at 9pm EST on Bravo.