Bethenny talks to The Insider

Bethenny did a short interview with The Insider, here are a few highlights.

The Real Housewives of New York" star Bethenny Frankel comes to "The Insider" to talk about her new baby, losing the pregnancy weight and her troubled past, saying she was a victim of childhood abuse.

On the cover this week's People magazine, on stands Friday, the new mom says her baby saved her life and helped turn around a troubled past.

She's speaking out now, she says, because "women are afraid to talk about things." She wants to open a dialogue in an effort to help herself heal and inspire others to deal with abuse in their lives.

As a child, she says her home life was marred with alcoholism and abuse. Rather than repeat that pattern with her own family, she says she aims to turn it into a positive. "Some people go the other way, some people recreate their childhood," she says. "There are many ways to skin a cat...believe me I could have gone the other way so many times."

One way she turned her painful childhood around was focusing on her health. Raised by a mother she claims abused alcohol and battled an eating disorder, "I turned it into a positive by becoming a chef," she says.

Now, speaking out is "a way to break the chain," Bethenny tells "The Insider." "I want to make it a little bit easier for [my daughter] Bryn."

Newborn Bryn is bringing her great joy. "It's so wonderful to become pregnant later in life and become a mom," she says. "I appreciate it so much more because it almost didn't happen."

Plus, now that she's arrived she adds, "I can finally have a Skinny Girl margarita!"

As for losing the baby weight, "Everyone's looking for some big giant secret," she says. "I was healthy before, during and after...it gradually comes off. I wasn't obsessed during pregnancy. You have to keep your act together while you're pregnant."