Bethenny Makes an Interesting Real Estate Move

Nearly a year and a half after filing for divorce, former Real Housewives of New York star and talk show host Bethenny Frankel has rented out a second apartment in New York, leaving her estranged husband Jason Hoppy to live the bachelor's life in the Tribeca loft the former couple previously shared. Her move isn't an attempt to flaunt her Skinnygirl earnings, rather an effort to spend more time with the couple's 3-year-old daughter Bryn. Also, she'd like it very much if her new beau, 34-year-old financier Michael Cerussi, does not cross paths with her soon-to-be-ex.

Considering the fact that she filed for divorce in January 2013, I can't help but wonder why she waited so long to move out? Plus, if she didn't have a boyfriend, would she have remained put until the divorce was final? I can understand those who may question why the burden should be on her to find a new place to live? However, this divorce has been far from amicable and I can think of a few reasons why she should have been prompted to toss Hoppy the keys to the place a long time ago:

Hoppy didn't move out

Sure Frankel filed for divorce, but in this case it just seems that it would've been simpler for Frankel to cut her losses and pack it in a long time ago, thereby avoiding drama and worsening an already tense situation. Frankel and Hoppy bypassed any attempts to maintain a public facade of a happy couple who simply didn't work out, a tactic so often employed by celebrities whose marriages are on the rocks. Things between them must've been pretty sticky, meaning they're better off not living together. Obviously there's no one-size-fits-all resolution for divorce, but if peace and closure meant Frankel moving out first, then why wait?

They publicly insult one another

Hoppy accused Frankel of using him to have a kid. She's admitted that she settled for him, and actually compared him to food poisoning. So not only do they fight when they're home, they battle it out remotely by utilizing media outlets to bad-mouth one another.

She's dating again (allegedly)

Seeing as how this divorce was already the polar opposite of amicable, throwing a new boyfriend in the mix might've been a less complicated move had she left the apartment prior to, um... dating.

Hoppy wants full custody of the couple's daughter

As an aspiring mother, I can only imagine my reaction to my husband telling me he wants sole custody of the child I birthed. The "I went through 27 hours of labor," speech comes to mind. Every time I saw him, I'd be tempted to hurl a dish at his head, so moving out would be imperative, lest I sacrifice my good standing as a fit mother.

Despite the fact that they have yet to officially divorce, Frankel and Hoppy's relationship appears to have crossed the disastrous threshold a long time ago. Frankel may have moved out and presumably on with a new man, but something tells me that Hoppy shouldn't get too comfortable in his ex's Tribeca place.