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Lisa Rinna recently alleged that Lisa Vanderpump orchestrated the infamous “Puppygate” saga to boost her ill-fated spinoff, Vanderpump Dogs. Meanwhile, Teddi Mellencamp came forward, acknowledging her own role in the controversy. Rinna also expressed her own misgivings about the incident on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
During the ninth season, the group accused Vanderpump of leaking damaging information about Dorit Kemsley, who was a close friend at the time. The issue arose after Kemsley rehomed a dog she had adopted from Vanderpump Dogs, a rescue center owned by Lisa. The cast speculated that Vanderpump manipulated the situation to appear uninvolved.
Speaking on the podcast Two Ts in a Pod, Lisa divulged more insights into the Puppygate episode.
“We gathered at the hotel with all the producers to make sense of the situation because we were all upset, realizing we were essentially fueling a narrative for a pilot of her dog show,” Lisa explained, according to @just_bookin_around on TikTok. “The show ended up flopping—it barely lasted. I’ll never forget sitting at that table, looking the producers straight in the eye, and saying, ‘We’re crafting a pilot for her.’”
“And they were like, absolutely not,” she continued. “They lied right in my eyes.”
Teddi then shared her own side.
“I got myself into Puppygate. Once I realized I got myself too deep, I went to Rinna, and I was like, what do I do?” she said. “LVP and her people called and told me the story about Dorit and the dog, so I would bring it up [on camera]. But they wanted me to bring it up at the dog place, so the dog place would be shown. And I did.”
“And then this is when I knew I had been had: [Vanderpump] looked at me [on camera] and said, ‘Teddy, please don’t talk about this!’”
@just_bookin_around The puppy scandal that never ends. 📸: Reality Tea & Romper 🎧: Two Ts in a Pod, 2/23/2026 #fyp #bravotv #bravo #peacock #rhobh
♬ original sound – Just Bookin’ Around
At one point on the podcast, Rinna expressed her own regret.
“My worst year was my last year [on RHOBH],” she said, via @byewighellodrama on Instagram. “I should not have done that year. I should have taken a break, come back the next year. [But] I was fully in contract, and the Mexico trip happened three days after my mom died.”
“That was insane. Somebody should have said, ‘You know what? Take a week. Take two weeks,’” said Lisa. “Of course [I felt obligated to go]. I’m a worker bee. I was like, I have a contract. … But in hindsight … I was in shock. I was so f**ked up.”
Lisa said she also got a bad edit.
“I became the villain,” she explained. “And when you’re in grief, you are angry. That’s the first emotion that comes out. … When you’re at your lowest, that is when they come — the sharks. … The minute I went down and I was vulnerable, they hit. And there was blood in the water, and they f**king devoured me. … And [I] go, ‘Life’s too short. I’m out.’”
According to Lisa, she hasn’t missed the show since.