One of the most remembered and quoted episodes of Real Housewives of New York is known as “Scary Island” because Kelly Bensimon named it that. The episode, number 12 of the third season, is called “Sun, Sand and Psychosis.” It originally aired on May 20, 2010.
Ramona Singer invited Bethenny Frankel, Alex McCord, Ramona Singer, Sonja Morgan and Kelly Bensimon on a girls’ trip to St. John Island as a bachelorette party before renewing her wedding vows on her 17th anniversary with now ex-husband Mario Singer.
Kelly was in an awkward position with Bethenny early on. As the trip progressed, Kelly revealed that she was having nightmares because she was paranoid that Bethenny would kill her in her sleep. Kelly’s behavior continued to deteriorate throughout the weekend, leading to a confrontation at a dinner Bethenny had cooked for the group as a vow renewal gift for Ramona.
Kelly was very upset when Bethenny left a gift bag outside each of her doors. “I don’t understand why she did that. I don’t understand why she did that,” Kelly said. “It was so impersonal and it just bothered me.”
She started crying and told the cameras that she was “alone on Scary Island with no friends.”
At breakfast, Kelly was offended because Bethenny made a joke about stomping grapes to make wine for Ramona. Kelly was upset because she planned to eat the grapes.
When Bethenny explained that she was using light humor, alluding to the fact that wine is made by stomping grapes, Kelly insisted that she does not approve of “light humor” when it comes to food.
Later that evening, things seemed to improve. The group had a nice dinner on the yacht and then Bethenny started talking about her father’s recent death.
Kelly became upset again when the girls started talking about one-night stands, which Kelly found offensive.
Then she got into an argument with Sonja about crying and feeling insecure about her body after giving birth. Sonja accused Kelly of being uncomfortable with others showing strong emotions, and Kelly agreed and started making fun of emotions. “To be honest, the whole emotions thing? It’s so 1979.”
She then went after Bethenny, saying that she likes to play the victim and tries to make people feel bad so she can feel better.
One of Kelly’s biggest issues with Bethenny during the trip was the fact that she thought Bethenny was defaming her in the press, an accusation she made up over and over again during their bizarre trip and later at the reunion. She never provided any evidence of what was said or that Bethenny was behind any press reports about Kelly or her family. Bethenny denied speaking to the press about Kelly and her family.
Another major criticism Kelly had of Bethenny was that she called herself a “chef.”
“You’re not a chef, you’re a cook. This is scary,” Kelly told Bethenny.
“I went to culinary school, you idiot,” Bethenny replied.
The next night everything exploded.
It was pretty quiet at first, but Kelly insisted on not sitting near or across from Bethenny.
At first, Bethenny only came by briefly because she was in charge of the kitchen.
Kelly didn’t like the crab cakes Bethenny served and was later given a raw steak with a string in it, which Bethenny immediately took back and had recooked.
As the chaos escalated, Kelly claimed that Bethenny tried to kill her.
She also accused Alex of wearing Kabuki makeup and turning himself into a vampire when she confronted Jill.
At one point, the other girls left Sonja alone with Kelly, and Kelly confided in Sonja that she was still torn because she believed Bethenny had vilified her children in the press.
What was going on with Kelly Bensimon on Scary Island?
In the 14 years since “Scary Island” aired, there has been a lot of speculation about what happened. “I’m not a doctor, but something is wrong. I’m worried about Kelly. There’s something going on here that doesn’t just affect us,” Sonja says in an interview.
“I think Kelly is incredibly paranoid and incredibly delusional. I really believe Kelly believes her own myth, I do. Why should I spend my time trying to get Kelly in the paper?” Bethenny asked.
In 2021, Kelly released an explainer video about Scary Island titled “CLOSURE. The Truth About Scary Island.”
In her video, Kelly said she felt like the “new girl” and an outsider in the group.
Scary Island had much more to offer
At Bravocon 2022 RHONY Producer Matt Anderson shared that there was “a lot they didn’t show.” Kelly was actually the first Real Housewife to break the fourth wall by calling his name.
“It was a crazy night. Kelly felt like she had to stay at the dinner … and we kept saying, ‘If you’re upset, you can leave,'” Anderson said. “She didn’t like how things were going, so she just kept saying my name. She said, ‘Matt, Matt, Matt, Matty, Matty’ … and then (it was like saying, ‘Go to sleep!'”
At the season three reunion, Kelly said she was the victim of “systematic bullying” by the other girls and vowed to use her platform to educate young girls about systematic bullying.
Another strange aspect of Scary Island was Kelly’s love of gummy bears and jelly beans. As the ending was coming to light, Kelly got her jelly beans, started munching on them, and offering them to everyone while Bethenny screamed at her to “GO TO SLEEP.”
When Kelly later tried unsuccessfully to explain to Luann and Jill what had happened, they laughed at her when she mentioned that she had taken out the jelly beans.
I’m sorry, but one of the best parts of the Scary Island arc was Kelly Bensimon’s obsession with jelly beans and gummy bears.
Jelly beans were practically a supporting character.
“What? Jelly beans don’t belong on a cocktail tray?”#RHONY pic.twitter.com/KS72UHgK5T
— StarcasmWives (@StarcasmWives) 11 August 2024
This trip was legendary for several reasons. The night before Kelly’s major breakdown, Ramona released “Turtle Time.”
During another chaotic situation with Kelly, a very drunk Ramona had hopped off the girls’ yacht and onto the nearby yacht of the owner of Hooters, who was flirting heavily with her. Once she was done with the Hooters yacht, Ramona convinced Bethenny and Alex to come with her to the Fat Turtle Bar to dance for a while.
Ramona said in confession that it was “the best night I’ve ever had with friends.”
