Bethenny Frankel blames facial infection on hotel TOWELS after she had to cut St. Barts trip short

Bethenny Frankel has claimed the bacterial infection she contracted on her face in St. Barts over New Year's was the result of hotel towels.

The 55-year-old Real Housewives of New York City alumna was forced to cut her trip short after flying to the Caribbean island with her daughter Bryn Hoppy, 15.

While there, the Skinnygirl founder was able to party with a string of celebrities including Jeff Bezos's wife Lauren Sanchez, movie star Glen Powell and TikTok influencer Alix Earle, who ignited romance rumors with Tom Brady while there.

However Frankel had to dash home earlier than she anticipated, citing the infection as well as unspecified 'heartbreaking news' that appeared to be the New Year's Eve suicide of her close friend, makeup artist Jason Kaplan.

This Thursday, she remarked that she 'had a bacterial infection from towels,' while addressing her fans in a TikTok video that showed her rash was now gone. 

'It happened once to my daughter and she was the one who recognized it when it happened to me and it started to happen to her.'

Frankel pointed out that hotel towels and sheets both carry bacteria, joking that the establishments did not come equipped with 'a towel fairy' that 'immediately' washed the items after every use by a guest.

Hotel linens are first tossed in 'bins with food and beverage and heat and God knows what I'm not gonna get into, and it just is not sanitary in any situation,' she said.

'Even a well-cleaned towel still holds bacteria. A facecloth holds bacteria. And a dermatologist told me this. A facialist told me this a while ago,' added Frankel.

'Same thing with makeup sponges, okay? Makeup sponges, you can clean them out as much as you want. They hold bacteria. So do powder puffs. So do makeup brushes,' the Bethenny Ever After star continued.

'So you have to do the best you can, you can't live inside a bubble, but I'm just telling you that I will never, ever in my life use a hotel towel or a sheet again.'

Frankel offered a reflection on her St. Barts trip when she first announced that she had to rush home early because of her bereavement and medical issue.

'Despite leaving early because of some heartbreaking news, dealing with a bacterial infection, and St. Barths being the Hunger Games of holiday socialization, I still found moments that really mattered,' she wrote.

'I spent special time with friends and my love, Bryn, and rang in the new year in a way that felt genuinely meaningful, surrounded by good people,' Frankel added.

'This trip reminded me of something I've always known but sometimes forget: it's not about what you're doing, it's about who you're with. And real happiness doesn't come from the setting, the plans, or the noise, it comes from within.' 

She had previously posted a TikTok in which she fretted that she had engaged in 'bad parenting' by taking Bryn to St. Barts over the holidays.

Although she had visited the island 'dozens of times' during the 'off-season,' the New Year's rush 'hit different,' Frankel said, pointing to the 'harsh reality' of the island at a time when a glut of billionaires descend on it with their superyachts.

She mentioned that other people she interacted with during her holiday 'kept talking about where they should be rather than being present.' 

Frankel also said that socializing with people who had what she referred to as 'bad morals' left her with 'anxiety' and a 'bad feeling the whole entire time.' 

At around 4:00am on January 1, she and her daughter packed their bags and jetted home to Florida, where they were 'so happy' to celebrate with their 'puppies.'