Bethenny Frankel announces mom's death from cancer

Reality star and entrepreneur Bethenny Frankel announced on Instagram that her mother Bernadette Birk died at age 73 from lung cancer.

"My mother has died of lung cancer," she captioned a photo of the two women together. "She was complex, in pain, isolated and had demons.She was the most stunning woman you have ever seen ..."

Frankel said she had a difficult relationship with her mother. The two had been estranged but reconnected so that Frankel's daughter Bryn could know her grandmother.

“She adored Bryn and they shared a love of art,” she explained.

“She had one friend, so my lifelong wish was granted that she wasn’t alone," Frankel said. "She was selfish in life, yet selfless in death. She left what little she had to my daughter, wished to be cremated, and wanted no one to be notified besides me.”

“Goodbye mom, Bonnie, Bernadette," she said. "You did the best you could and you are free and at peace.”