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In 2023, Lisa Rinna revealed her decision to leave The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills after an eight-season run. Her last season stirred significant controversy, leaving many viewers anticipating her departure. Although Rinna stands by her involvement in the season, she confessed it might have been wiser to step back. She explained her reasons for believing a break from the show would have been beneficial at that time.
Lisa Rinna said she should have taken a break from ‘RHOBH’
Rinna’s concluding season on the show, which aired in 2022, saw her embroiled in heated conflicts with fellow cast members Sutton Stracke and Kathy Hilton, leading some fans to turn against her. She acknowledged that the recent passing of her mother had influenced her actions and conceded that a temporary withdrawal from the series might have been more appropriate.
“I’m definitely in a better place now than I was three years ago,” Rinna expressed on Jeff Lewis Live. “After my mother passed, truthfully, I should have paused and focused on grieving instead of continuing with the show. That was my misstep.”
Rinna felt compelled to continue with the show, despite recognizing she wasn’t mentally prepared for the reality TV spotlight. She speculated that the rawness of her mourning might have contributed to the audience’s negative reaction toward her that season.
“Grieving publicly was challenging,” she admitted. “I don’t think viewers are comfortable witnessing others grieve; it’s too painful. I believe I stirred emotions in them they couldn’t quite understand, which might explain some of their frustrations with me. It was a profoundly challenging way to conclude that chapter in my life.”
“[I]t was difficult, you know, it was difficult to grieve in the public eye,” she said. “And I also don’t think that people are comfortable watching other people grieve. It’s too painful. And I think I triggered a lot of stuff in people. They didn’t know why they were upset with me, but I think that had something to do with it. So, it was a really, really difficult ending to that chapter.”
She acknowledged that her final season was “toxic” and said she’s glad to be where she is now.
Lisa Rinna said she has no regrets about her time on ‘RHOBH’
While Rinna has faced criticism for her final season on RHOBH, she said she does not feel apologetic for the way she treated her co-stars.
“Everyone always asks me if I have regrets about my behavior, especially during my last season,” she wrote in her book You Better Believe I’m Gonna Talk About It (per InStyle). “I do not regret lashing out at Sutton, or regret handling the Kathy of it all. I do not regret a minute of it.”
She believed her cast members should have been more empathetic to her in her final season.
“I was doing the best I could on a reality show a couple days after my mom died, and now that I look back on it, I say shame on them for the way they handled me,” she wrote.
She said she only has four friends from her time on the show
While Rinna burned some bridges in her time on the show, she said she is still in contact with some of her former co-stars. She is still friendly with Erika Jayne, Kyle Richards, Dorit Kemsley, and Teddi Mellencamp. She said this group has even discussed going on a trip, and has had dinner together.
Rinna said passersby seemed shocked when they saw them all at a table together. This didn’t surprise her.
“We were secluded at a discreet table in the back, like in The Sopranos, but a lot of people walked by us on the way to the bathroom and stopped dead in their tracks,” she wrote. “They had to rub their eyes like a cartoon character to make sure what they were really seeing. I don’t blame them. It’s a miracle that I made it out of RHOBH with even one friend.”
Rinna said she is grateful for her time on the show, but is glad to no longer be a part of the cast.