On social media, we’ve come to expect a few things from Bethenny Frankel: unhinged rants against the Kardashians, reviews of drugstore makeup lines, and criticisms of the Real Housewives franchise. However, Bethenny has taken a brief break from her regularly scheduled programming to support longtime friend Heather Dubrow and her family. Heather’s 12-year-old son, Ace Dubrow, recently came out as transgender. And Bethenny is boldly coming to the family’s defense against transphobic naysayers.
As Page Six, Heather recently shared with her followers a touching post announcing her son’s gender identity. The Real Housewives of Orange County star shared a picture on Instagram of her son’s name written in the sand, with a caption reading, “We love you, our youngest son, Ace [heart emoji].”
The mother of four continued, “Our job as parents is to give our kids a safe and supportive environment so they can grow up as healthy, happy, confident, independent humans. Since Ace is a 12-year-old child, with a long life ahead of him – we will let him tell his own story someday if he chooses to do so.” Heather continued, “All we can say is Ace, we love you so much and we are proud to be your parents. Your brother and sisters love and support you too.”
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When it comes to parenting, it really doesn’t get any more supportive than Heather and Dr. Terry Dubrow. They show nothing but love to their kids. Yet, like clockwork, online trolls emerged from the darkest depths of the internet to fix their greasy fingers on their keyboards and spread negativity toward Heather and her family.
Bethenny wasn’t having any of it and quickly delivered a masterclass in online allyship. One person on social media tried to criticize Ace’s transition, saying he’s “too young to decide.” Bethenny quickly responded, “It’s not you.”
She maintained the same sentiment with another commenter who tried to argue that Ace has “too much to learn” and shouldn’t make decisions regarding his health and identity. “It’s not you so you don’t know,” Bethenny simply replied.
Bethenny took her love and support for Heather’s family even further by sharing a touching video of her daughter, Bryn Hoppy, hanging out with Ace. The two were dancing, smiling, and just being the normal pre-teens that they are. In the Instagram post, Bethenny explained how she and Heather, who are old friends, ran into each other while vacationing in Aspen. During the unexpected encounter, Bryn and Ace met and became fast friends.
Bethenny wrote, “When I first met Ace at the table, there was a noticeable joy & happiness in his essence-an extra dose of sweetness, which I communicated to Heather after the dinner. There was something extra happy about him. Upon reflection, I was sure it was that he is allowed to be who he actually is,” she added.
The Real Housewives of New York City alum continued, “I’ve always said & believed: You can’t be who you’re not. You have to allow yourself to be free in being who you are. Life is so short and precious. Be who you want to be and be a good person in the process.”
Heather replied to Bethenny, thanking her for her family’s allyship. She wrote, “Thank you @bethennyfrankel for your love and support. Bryn is incredible- you’ve raised a good one.”
TELL US – WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON BETHENNY AND HEATHER’S FRIENDSHIP? DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO BE A BETTER ALLY?
[Photo Credit: John Lamparski/Getty Images]
