Bethenny Frankel Slams 'Irresponsible' Rumors About Her Relationship with Fiancé Paul Bernon

"I didn't have to address rumors, but rumors hurt and affect other people," Bethenny Frankel said

Bethenny Frankel is setting the record straight on her relationship status.

The Real Housewives of New York City alum, 51, said she is still engaged to fiancé Paul Bernon while addressing those who were speculating about whether the couple had called it quits.

Rumors of a split began on Tuesday after Frankel posted a photo on Instagram, which showed her without her engagement ring, posing next to a Christmas tree and wearing a sweatshirt that read "All My Jingle Ladies."

Later that same day, Frankel shut down the "irresponsible" rumors with several Instagram Story videos.

"I didn't have to address rumors, but rumors hurt and affect other people, as does irresponsible press," she said. "I'm engaged to a wonderful man named Paul."

Frankel continued, "We got engaged in February, and months later, I was swimming and had my ring on, and then it came out that we were engaged, because we didn't make an announcement. We didn't feel that we wanted to announce being engaged."

Bethenny Frankel and Paul Bernon
Bethenny Frankel/ instagram

Frankel also said she doesn't feel obligated to wear her engagement ring at all times.

"We are engaged. I don't always wear my ring," she said. "I don't have to always wear my ring. Sometimes I don't feel that it's safe. Sometimes my fingers swell or contract. But I'm doing me."

"It's my opinion that a relationship is about the two people in the relationship, the commitment and the feelings," she added. "Not about announcements, not about pomp and circumstance, not about jewelry. It's symbolism. And if I decide to wear an engagement toe ring, then so be it."

Frankel began dating Bernon, whom she met on a dating app, in the fall of 2018 after the death of her late ex, Dennis Shields. Then, in March, PEOPLE broke the news of the couple's engagement.

"It was intimate," the Skinnygirl founder told PEOPLE in April of the proposal, which occurred in February. "Just the two of us, on an island off of Florida. No makeup, no manicure, no ring photos. It was very simple and beautiful."

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Bethenny Frankel
Cindy Ord/Getty Images. Cindy Ord/Getty

"I was pretty lucky when I walked in and saw him. He had a twinkle," she said. "He came as advertised — better than advertised. He overshot the mark."

Frankel shares 11-year-old daughter, Bryn, with ex-husband Jason Hoppy. The former couple had been entangled in a years-long custody battle over their child, but Frankel's rep recently confirmed to PEOPLE a judge ruled that she no longer has to pay child support.

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