EXCLUSIVE: Bethenny Frankel Reveals Her Recent Weight Loss Was Partly Due to Health Problems
Bethenny Frankel is opening up about her weight loss -- disclosing that her slimmer figure is due in part to her recent health problems.
The Real Housewives of New York star sat down with ET's Lauren Zima on Tuesday, where she revealed that while her health problems were internal -- the 45-year-old battled endometriosis, uterine cysts and aggressive fibroids -- they had a noticeable effect on her outer appearance.
WATCH: Bethenny Frankel in Tears Over Recent Health Scare: 'I Really Tried to Hold It All Together'
"I was very anemic, and I had black circles for a year that I couldn't understand," Frankel said of her appearance pre-diagnosis. "No matter how much I slept, I couldn’t get rid of them."
But dark circles weren't Frankel's only issue -- she was also battling intense bleeding and cramps. The reality star has fought endometriosis her "whole life," having several procedures to calm the bleeding over the last couple decades, but the pain became unbearable over the last six months.
"I used to be a crier, and now I'm a bleeder. A stage five bleeder. It was very, very bad and graphic and just really brutal," Frankel explained of her health condition.
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"I went back to the doctor and he sent me for a sonogram, and basically said that my uterus had doubled in size and that I had lost almost 10 percent of my blood," she said. "He gave me measurement of the fibroids, which I didn't understand."
Frankel's physician identified the fibroids as the cause of her pain -- telling her there were a number of large fibroids he could see, and "probably a lot more," he couldn't -- recommending she get a myomectomy to remove them.
"The scar seems worse than my C-section scar," Frankel told ET on how she's recovering from the surgery. "It's in the same place, but…it's not the greatest."
"I have to go back for my next checkup to make sure that everything is sort of back together," she added. "It's something that I can't really see, so I don’t really know, but I feel better. I definitely feel better."
But a reality star like Frankel knows it's not just about how she feels on the inside, it's how she looks on the outside. "People say that I look better," the mother-of-one stated. "I've lost weight, so that's maybe not the best. People are still commenting on that, but I did, so I understand why they are saying that."
At this point, the RHONY star has gotten used to hearing other's opinions. "I'm used to it," Frankel said. "Don't hate the player, hate the game. It's part of it."
Earlier this month, ET sat down with Bravo's Andy Cohen, who had a lot to say about Frankel's frightening health issues, and how they will be portrayed on the upcoming season of The Real Housewives of New York. See more in the video below.