Dina Manzo Tells Bethenny Frankel How to Win the Long Game as Drama Heats Up
Dina Manzo says she’s offering pearls of wisdom, not shade, as her business-etiquette clash with Housewives alum Bethenny Frankel goes viral. Frankel, 55, kept the buzz going with a May 16 Instagram video strutting through New York in head-to-toe leather and matching pumps.
Because of course a pair of shoes just kicked off a Housewives mini-war: Dina Manzo and her daughter Lexi say Bethenny Frankel took their gift, wore it, and then pointed followers to a cheaper copy for profit. Bethenny says it was sold out and she doesn’t owe anyone a tag. Welcome to the glamorous trenches of influencer etiquette.
The fast version
- Friday, May 15: Lexi Manzo (30) says she sent Bethenny Frankel (55) a pair of Nou mules almost a year ago because she admired her as a fellow Bravo alum and entrepreneur. She’s fine with no tag, but takes issue with Bethenny later sharing an affiliate link to a lookalike instead of the actual shoes when fans asked.
- That same day: Dina Manzo (54) backs Lexi on Instagram Stories, calling it odd for Bethenny to post a dupe of her gifted @shopnou shoes when she clearly wears the real ones a lot.
- Saturday, May 16: Bethenny posts an Instagram video strutting in an all-leather look with matching pumps. Dina drops a cheeky comment telling her to switch back to the comfy @shopnou_ heels and notes Bethenny nearly took a spill on the sidewalk.
- Later Saturday: Dina clarifies she was trying to offer 'long game' advice and stands by the observation that Bethenny did, in fact, catch a toe.
- Within hours: Bethenny responds on TikTok, saying the shoes were sold out so her team linked a similar pair to avoid frustrating followers, and reminds everyone she’s not obligated to tag or link gifted items.
How this started
Lexi runs Nou, the footwear brand behind the mules in question. She says she sent Bethenny a pair nearly a year ago because she looked up to her. When Bethenny’s outfit video started blowing up and people asked about the shoes, Lexi noticed Bethenny shared an affiliate link to a cheaper 'dupe' instead of the actual Nou pair. In Lexi’s view, Bethenny got a free pair from a woman-founded brand, wears them, and then monetized a knockoff link when interest spiked. That, more than the lack of a tag, is what set her off.
Dina turns the screw
Dina backed her daughter on Friday, basically saying: if you’ve been gifted the real thing and wear it all the time, why send people to a copy? Then came Bethenny’s Saturday sidewalk video. Dina slid into the comments with a nudge about switching back to Nou because those are comfier, and lightly roasted the near-stumble on camera. When fans called her out, Dina said she was just giving practical advice for the 'long game' — and yes, Bethenny did trip.
Bethenny’s counter
Bethenny’s reply arrived Saturday on TikTok. Her stance: when an item is sold out, linking something similar keeps viewers from getting annoyed. Also, she’s not a publicist for every brand that sends freebies.
'If you send me something, I have no obligation to link, like, use, wear, buy, tag. I can do whatever I want.'
She also claimed plenty of brands can vouch for how much product she moves and said she doesn’t deal in nonsense when it comes to recommendations.
What this really is
This is the messy gray area where gifting, tagging, sellouts, and affiliate money collide. Lexi wanted credit or at least a clean link back to the shoes that inspired the buzz. Bethenny says there’s no point hyping something fans can’t buy, so she sent them somewhere they could spend money — and she’d earn from it. Dina, ever the protective mom, turned it into a teachable moment with a little sidewalk snark.