I breathed a sigh of relief when Bethenny Frankel‘s assistant Julie Plake finally gave her notice on this week’s episode of Bethenny Ever After. Julie just looked so miserable in every episode this season. I wanted to take her out for a drink and get her a new job.
It looks like she did just that. Her Twitter bio as of this week reads, “back in the burgh, working in pr & loving life.” Julie, who had worked for Bethenny for three years, decided to leave New York and move closer to her family and boyfriend. You can’t really blame her, life in New York is so expensive and can be exhausting, especially when you’re in a 24/7 job like the one of celebrity assistant.
On her Bravo blog this week, Julie explains how she felt after watching Bethenny describe to her therapist how Julie’s frazzled attitude affected her negatively. Because everything is about Bethenny. To her credit, Julie takes the high road:
Seeing Bethenny talk about me in therapy was emotional. In my time with Bethenny, I was pretty much everywhere with her (bathroom, bedroom, fitting room), but the therapy room. I guess I didn’t realize until I saw this what an extreme part of her life I had become. I always knew it, but seeing her get emotional like that made it more real. Bethenny and her familyhave become a HUGE part of my life. I saw them EVERYDAY all day. . .not being around them is like having an empty hole. I am just glad that Bethenny has Dr. Amador to help her work through her emotions and learn tools on how to handle situations. Everyone needs that.
Having worked for a moody boss before, it makes me so angry that Julie is still deferring to Bethenny in the above blog post. I’m sure Julie did affect Bethenny’s mood, but at the end of the day, Bethenny is the one who takes home all the profits. She is the boss. Did Bethenny ever think that it was her crazy-ass behavior that made Julie so frazzled? Julie also makes a curious statement about the rest of her time on the show:
“Don’t worry though — you can’t get rid of me that quickly. I’m still around to wear out my welcome and say goodbye. . .
It’s bittersweet. . .stay tuned.”
That’s an interesting comment! I wonder if we’ll see their relationship change. Bethenny also blogged, and started it off like this: “I really liked this episode, because it was largely about female power, which is, in many ways, what I stand for.” Female power via low-calorie drinks! We’re going to destroy the patriarchy while remaining true to our inner Skinnygirl.
Bethenny says Julie’s departure was the right thing to do:
Julie made a decision. Whether that is what you or I would do is irrelevant. She was stuck. She was tormented and something needed to happen for something to happen. To be honest, it was better for everyone. When someone is struggling with something, it affects their whole environment. Jackie was so enthusiastic about embarking on a new adventure, and it was difficult to do so while Julie’s heart and head were leaving the game. It’s the circle of life in business. I love Julie, and she is forever in my heart and connected to my family, but I do believe that it was the best decision for everyone. She is happy, the office is running smoothly and quietly, and everyone has found their place.
That’s right, Julie! Every thing is so much better now that you are gone! But seriously, Bethenny is right, and Julie is probably much happier. The thing about working for a boss like that is everything else afterwards seems easy.
And what about the new Julie? Jackie also posted to her Bravo blog, but she’s a woman of few words, saying that she was “in denial” about Julie’s departure and that “I know I have big shoes to fill, but Julie is a great teacher and will help me with everything I need to know!”
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF JULIE’S DEPARTURE FROM TEAM BETHENNY? WOULD YOU WORK FOR HER?
