Former 'RHONY' Star Bethenny Frankel Reveals How Money Played A Role In Leaving Show

There's no denying that Bethenny Frankel likes to make money -- just take a look at her ever-growing portfolio -- but she's not going to let that control her life.

In an interview with Variety, the reality star dished about what really led her to make the decision to leave Bravo's "The Real Housewives of New York City" after over a decade.

"Everyone thinks I left because of money," the Skinnygirl creator explained. "I wasn’t leaving because of money, I was staying because of money."

"It was really the paycheck, which was, you know, astronomical at that point. And so I was staying because of money. And I just thought to myself, a bartender, a high-class prostitute who’s making a lot of money, you gotta sometimes make a move, and just say, 'Let me just do what feels right to me.'"

She continued, "It’s taken me longer to order a pasta dish than just to decide this. I just was looking for a reason. And I just was ready to do it. I didn’t want to be there anymore. I didn’t want to be there anymore," she said. "I mean, honestly — I just didn’t."

READ: Does ‘Real Housewives Of New York City’ Star Bethenny Frankel Regrets Leaving Bravo Show?

Bethenny added that being on the show became "exhausting and taxing" at times, especially with juggling three jobs (motherhood, business and "RHONY") and the drama wasn't fitting into the three categories she really wanted to focus her energy on.

"I just felt like I have to kind of really spend my time focusing on business, my daughter, philanthropy," the 49-year-old said.

"You want to just feel good about what you did. There’s no price on sanity, and your mental health and your emotional health. And you can’t pay me enough to just have a hysterical meltdown crying right now," she continued. "There’s no amount of money that could make me want to sit somewhere and cry over something I wouldn’t normally care about."

READ: Bethenny Frankel Returns To Reality Television, But It's Not What You Think

Something Bethenny does normally care about is her business which is how her new show, "The Big Shot With Bethenny," came about.

"The Big Shot With Bethenny" will give the next generation of business moguls a chance to compete to be second-in-command to the Skinnygirl founder and win a position on her executive team. The eight-episode series will premiere on HBO Max.