Housewives Horror: Bethenny Frankel Shares Stomach-Churning Update On Facial Bacterial Infection Contracted From Hotel Towels
Bethenny Frankel shares TikTok update on facial infection from hotel towels after luxury St. Barths trip.
Jan. 19 2026, Published 1:53 p.m. ET
Bethenny Frankel is officially done with hotel towels, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The Real Housewives of New York star revealed in a new TikTok that she contracted a bacterial infection on her face during her New Year's getaway with daughter Bryn.
Towels Hold Bacteria
Bethenny Frankel gives an update on a bacterial infection from her St. Barths trip.
In her January 15 video, the star revealed: "So, I had a bacterial infection from towels. It happened once to my daughter. She was the one who recognized it when it happened to me, and it started to happen to her. Towels hold bacteria, so do sheets."
She went on about the unsanitary conditions that towels are left in between washes — even at luxury hotels.
"If you've ever been behind a hotel looking for your kids' blanket and seeing those disgusting bins of towels and linens, it's not like the second that you take your towel, even in the best of hotels, if they're washing it, like, they just immediately, the towel fairy takes it off, and it gets washed," she shared with followers.
"Like it sits in these bins with food and beverage and heat, and God knows what I'm not gonna get into, and it just is not sanitary in any situation. Like, even a well-cleaned towel still holds bacteria."
The RHONY star warns fans about bacteria on hotel towels and sheets.
Swearing Off Towels and Sheets
She contracted the infection during a luxury getaway with her daughter.
Frankel didn't stop at towels, cautioning about other items such as facecloths, makeup sponges, powder puffs, and brushes, which can all harbor bacteria.
"You have to do the best you can. You can't live inside a bubble. I'm just telling you that I will never, ever in my life use a hotel towel or sheet again," she declared.
Doctor Weighting In
The star is recovering after taking antibiotics.
Some viewers speculated online about her rash, with theories ranging from allergies to chlamydia.
A New York-based surgeon, Dr. Daniel Rosen, weighed in on TikTok, clarifying that facial chlamydia doesn't exist and that her infection was purely bacterial.
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'Allergic to St. Barths'
Frankel says she will no longer use hotel linens while traveling.
The update comes after Frankel shared a TikTok on January 5 showing a red, irritated rash across her face.
In the video, she wrote, "POV: you left St. Barths 3 days early & brought home a bacterial infection," and added the caption, "Allergic to St. Barths #bye."
On January 6, the reality TV star revealed she was on antibiotics and appears to be all healed in her latest post.
Staying true to her signature sense of humor, the swimwear designer also poked fun at the paparazzi's coverage of her lavish beach getaway.
"I went swimming in the ocean and got paparazzi'd — and of course I looked like a drowned rat because I wasn’t wearing couture to the beach," she joked.
