Bethenny Frankel knew the polka dot bikini she wore in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit fashion show was going to change her life.
Frankel, 54, exclusively opened up to Us Weekly about the swimsuits she wore while walking in the publication’s fashion show during Miami Swim Week in May. Ahead of walking down the runway in a hot pink and black spotted Toxic Sadie scoop-neck top and G-string bottoms, Frankel told Us she tried on the number just “for fun.”
“I had a point of view about what I wanted,” the Real Housewives of New York City alum told Us while promoting her partnership with Heluva Good! “I said, ‘I don’t want to wear a backyard bathing suit. I wanted to find things that came alive [when] I put them on.” After initially trying swimsuits on and choosing what she was going to rock, she and SI Swimsuits’ stylists were “playing around” when they handed her what looked like “a piece of string.”
“You could hear them outside [the changing room] laughing,” she recalled. “I’m like, ‘Yeah, just for fun.’” After she slipped into the bikini, Frankel knew the design would “change [her] life.”
“I walked out and they were like, ‘Wait.’ And I was like, ‘Is something happening here?’ I’m like, ‘I guess I’m showing my ass.’”
Frankel ended up wearing the polka dot G-string on the catwalk, making her go viral on social media for her toned figure and sexy style.

The show may be over, but Frankel is still hoping she can keep the Toxic Sadie design, along with the cheeky leopard-print Norma Kamali one-piece she wore.
“I actually am waiting for my one-piece and I would like to keep the polka dot [set], too,” she told Us, joking, “Who else is going to wear it? It’s been in my vagina. Maybe I want to sell ’em on eBay.”

Part of Frankel’s supermodel mentality was eating clean, which included Heluva Good snacks and their limited-edition Host’s Hidden Heluva Good! Dip —a faux potted plant that doubles as a secret dip stash.
“It’s good, it is a hell of a good food, a hell of a good dip,” Frankel told Us, noting the brand only uses “real milk” and “real cream.” Besides indulging in the dip with chips, Frankel told Us she’s been “inspired to put [it] on [her] sandwiches to make chicken salad,” or “on a baked potato.”
She also gushed about the functionality of the faux plant, which helps keep her “stress” free when it comes time for hosting. “[It’s] very easy,” she said.
Fans can enter for a chance to win the Host’s Hidden Heluva Good! now through June 27th by visiting heluvagood.com/giveaway.