Who Is Bethenny Frankel's Boyfriend Tom Villante? Inside Relationship
Many fans weren’t aware Bethenny Frankel had a new boyfriend until she hard launched their relationship via Instagram in November 2024. Now they want to know more about Tom Villante, whom she calls “My man.”
When Did Bethenny Frankel and Tom Villante Start Dating?
The pair were first photographed holding hands on a date night at Santa Monica, California, hotspot Giorgio Baldi on September 8, 2024.
While it’s unclear when their romance began, Bethenny called things off with her former fiancé, Paul Bernon, after a six-year romance following the death of her mother, Bernadette Birk, in April 2024.
The Real Housewives of New York alum said the split happened following the “really traumatic loss” during the July 7, 2024, episode of her “Just B With Bethenny Frankel” podcast. “I went through a breakup. It was something that I kept to myself. It was something that I mourned on my own, and I did therapy, and I did the work … I just didn’t feel like it needed to be shared,” she explained.
Bethenny added, “It was a breakup that I wanted to process alone privately, and I didn’t feel that I owed anybody any explanation.”
What Does Tom Villante Do for a Living?
Tom is the founder, chairman and CEO of YapStone, a payment processing platform for the vacation rental industry.
His speaker bio for 2023’s The Startup Conference noted that Tom founded the company in 1999 “with the simple goal of converting bills commonly paid by paper check into online electronic payments. Today, YapStone processes over $18 billion in online and mobile payments and has raised over $110 million in capital.”
Prior to founding YapStone, Tom was a partner at the private equity firm The Seidler Company. He was also an investment banker with S.G. Warburg (now UBS). Tom is an angel investor in startup companies as well as a real estate investor.
Where Does Tom Villante Live?
The entrepreneur is based in Santa Monica, California, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Tom Villante Is an Ivy League Graduate
Tom graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics from Princeton University in 1989.
How Did Bethenny Frankel Announce Her Relationship With Tom Villante?
The former reality star hard launched their romance with Tom via an Instagram video on November 24, 2024. He was seen from behind stoking a fire in a fireplace while a college football game appeared on the TV screen next to him.
Bethenny was cuddled up in a furry white blanket on the sofa in front of Tom with a beaming smile on her face.
“POV: He buys you a luxury heated throw & builds a fire while you sip an overpriced latte…,” the Skinnygirl founder wrote over the video.
In the caption, Bethenny wrote, “Because I’m worth it,” while adding the hashtags, “and my man,” “thank you to my man” and “weekend.”
The debut of her boyfriend took many fans by surprise. One person commented, “WAIT yas new man and YAS new man who is handy,” while another asked, “Who’s that hottie with the body by the fire girl? That’s the real question.”
The entrepreneur revealed she was in Santa Monica the following day in a November 25, 2024, TikTok post, where a man’s voice that appeared to be Tom’s was heard in the background as he showed her around the coffee hotspot La La Land. He told her the “theme was kindness” as they perused through merchandise,
“Two muffins, two coffees, $27,” she later said after sipping from a cup, noting that “in L.A., that feels like a bargain.”