Written By: N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe | Published : January 23, 2026 8:09 PM IST
Bethenny Frankel Health Update: Bethenny Frankel, 55, who rose to fame for her role in 'The Real Housewives of New York' revealed that she has been diagnosed with stage 2 chronic kidney disease in a social media post shared on January 22. In the TikTok post that has now gone viral on the internet, the 55-year-old star says that the sole intention of sharing her health concern with the world is to spread awareness about taking precautions in one's own life.
"I have a medical announcement. Not because I want you to worry, but because I want you to take precautions in your own life, be mindful," Frankel said. 'The Real Housewives Of New York' alum further shares that she had been regular about certain tests to keep her health in check. However, her kidney function was 'coming up low.'
In her words, "Months ago, I decided that I was going to be very proactive about blood tests, bone density all the things I had heard people talking about. And I started to take a series of blood tests. And each time my kidney function was coming up low."
The 55-year-old explains that because of the patterns of results she was receiving, Frank reluctantly made an appointment with a kidney specialist who told her that she has a stage 2 chronic disease. "He said to me, 'You have stage 2 chronic kidney disease," Frankel said. "This traumatic experience I had years ago when I almost died from an allergy attack. It could have done damage to the kidney."
Further, the reality TV star said that when Frankel confessed to her doctor that she often sips Kambucha rather than water, he replied 'water is her medicine.' She said, "I don't drink a lot of water I'm holding a bottle, but I'm not usually drinking it. He said, 'Water is your medicine. You have to drink a giant ' I think he said 1.5 [gallons] 'and you can put your hydration packets in it.'"
Frankel came forward to share her medical concern because she believes, "maybe this is something I'll have to deal with forever, but I just wanted to tell you because I think it's important to go get all your bloodwork done."
Chronic kidney disease is a medical condition that occurs when the kidneys are damaged and unable to filter blood as they should. Thereby, excess fluid and waste remain in the body resulting in various health problems, such as heart disease, anaemia, infections, low calcium level, poor appetite, depression or low quality of life.
As we are all aware, CKD has various levels of seriousness which can get worse over time, though treatment has been shown to slow progression. There are five stages of kidney disease that include:
According to healthcare professionals, Stage 1 and Stage 2 kidney disease occur only in people whose kidneys are not normal, as in people who are born with just one kidney, a kidney cyst, urine that builds up in the kidney or protein in their urine. It states that most people often find out that they have chronic kidney disease at stage 3, 4 or five.
