In the midst of her bitter divorce battle with Jason Hoppy, “Real Housewife” turned daytime TV host Bethenny Frankel has found romance in the arms of a younger New York financier, Michael Cerussi III.
Frankel — who’s often been linked to billionaire financier Warren Lichtenstein but insists that the two are just longtime friends — spent a romantic New Year’s in Florida with Cerussi and they were “all over each other,” our spies said.
Frankel, 43, was snuggled up with Cerussi, 34 — known to friends as “Mac,” we hear — while dining at Buccan restaurant in Palm Beach last Friday. We’re told Frankel was “all over some young man” — Cerussi — and they were being “very public with the PDA.”
A spy said they were “running their fingers through each other’s hair” during dinner, and were so affectionate that an older Palm Beach resident dining at a table nearby yelled, “Get a room!”
Undeterred, the pair was photographed days later on New Year’s Eve embracing at the Mondrian South Beach, and then splashing around on the beach the next day.
The lovebirds were back at it again Wednesday night, when they were once more “all over each other” at Soho Beach House.
Sources tell Page Six that the two are dating, but that they’re not “exclusive — they’re having fun,” an insider told us.
People magazine has identified Cerussi as a finance exec from New York whose family has ties to Palm Beach and Greenwich, Conn.
The romance comes with some potentially other good news for Frankel this year: Her show, “Bethenny,” is looking likely to be renewed by Fox for a second season.
However, the Skinnygirl mogul is still going through a difficult divorce from estranged hubby Hoppy. The couple have a daughter, Bryn, 3, and split time with the girl over the holidays.
Frankel’s rep couldn’t be reached for comment.