Bethany Frankel tears into 'fairly unknown actress' Meghan Markle

'Perpetuating falsehoods about us' - Meghan slams the royal family in the most recent trailer for her and Prince Harry's interview with Oprah Winfrey. Video / CBS

"Cry me a river," began the explosive tweet from former Real Housewives of New York star Bethany Frankel. Clearly irked by Markle's lucrative interview deal with Oprah Winfrey - due to air later today - Frankel laid into the Duchess of Sussex, sarcastically empathising with her "plight".

"The plight of being a game show host, fairly unknown actress, to suffering in a palace, w tiaras & 7 figure weddings for TWO WHOLE YEARS," wrote Frankel, "to being a household name w @Oprah on speed dial, fetching 7 m for interviews, hundreds of millions in media deals."

Frankel's "game show host" dig refers to Markle's past role as a Deal or No Deal suitcase model. In addition, the actresses long-running role on the TV series Suits was not enough to inspire any sympathy from her Twitter critic, who sees her as "fairly unknown".

There may be more to Frankel's rancour than just professional rivalry. The 50-year-old entrepreneur used to date Markle's ex-husband, producer Trevor Engelson.

Bethany Frankel used to date Meghan Markle's ex-husband Trevor Engelson. Photo / Getty Images

The Twitter-verse was divided over Frankel's outburst, with some rushing to agree while others called her "cruel".

"Yes, cry me a River!!! I say cry babies!" one comment read, "Harry & Meghan reportedly moved into the nine bedroom, 16 bathroom mansion which boasts a pool, theatre, arcade and guesthouse in Montecito."

Frankel followed up her Twitter blast with another tweet, this time absolving Harry.

"I [100 per cent] give Harry a break," tweeted Frankel, without explaining why he was free from her wrath. "This isn't the way to generate less press & cannot be filed under the guise of wanting privacy to prevent a repeat of previous events."

Many agreed with Frankel's claim that the royal couple's plea for privacy is disingenuous.

"If they wanted privacy and a normal life then why are they doing interviews with Oprah and James Cordon."

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It wasn't all vitriol, however, with many calling Frankel out for cruelty and hypocrisy.

"Hmm like the river you cried of white women tears being a mediocre reality tv star claiming to be homeless while owning 2 properties in NYC with the luxury of living in a hotel while in a limo??? Oh the plight," tweeted one person.

"This seems unnecessarily cruel," tweeted another. "I get your brand/have long been a fan of yours; this seems like something for which you might later apologise."

Frankel launched her Twitter tirade just hours before Markle's highly anticipated tell-all interview is due to air. It seems that the excitement levels are what is fuelling Frankel's fire, with another tweet from her on the issue stating: "Not since @MonicaLewinsky interview, have people been obsessed with a young female interview like this #MARRY interview."

Whether Frankel likes it or not the interview will go ahead ... and the many around the world will be watching.

• CBS presents Oprah with Meghan and Harry will broadcast Tuesday, March 9 at 7.30pm on Three