BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA: After Lisa Rinna's 'RHOBH' exit prompted Andy Cohen to provide some perspective on the fiasco, the actress has clarified that she is indeed out of the show. In his recently published book 'The Daddy Diaries: The Year I Grew Up', the 'Watch What Happens Live' host disclosed the tale of Lisa's exit from 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' after eight seasons.
In January, Lisa made her exit from the show official and expressed excitement for the coming phase of her life. The 59-year-old stated, "This is the longest job I have held in my 35-year career and I am grateful to everyone at Bravo and all those involved in the series," in a statement to E! News at the time.
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Lisa 'should go on pause'
In his most recent book, Andy described how the Bravo actress apparently changed her mind after texting him late at night to say she was quitting after filming the season 12 reunion episode. In the end, Andy wrote, he believed Lisa "should go on pause but absolutely come back." The 54-year-old said in his book, "Feels like she has a toxic relationship with the show at this point, and taking a breath away could do everyone good," reports E! News.
In the epilogue, he continued, "We mutually agreed with Rinna that she should take a break from the show (this is a real pause)." The news shocked 'RHOBH' fans, including co-hosts of the 'Smith Sisters Live' radio show on SiriusXM Mariah, Rachel, and Lauren Smith, who termed Lisa's departure as "chaotic" when Andy visited them on May 11.
Lauren said, "That was wild to me because I had understood the narrative as her having been fired, and I was mind-blown when she texted immediately that night after the reunion being like, 'I'm out.'" Lauren had assumed that she had been fired. Then, however, it said, "Actually, no I'm not.' And then, it's like, 'Well, now you're on pause.'" Lisa must have "immediately regretted" leaving the show, Mariah continued.
Did Lisa Rinna actually quit 'RHOBH'?
On May 12, a representative for the 'Days of Our Lives' alum told E! News that the actress "is not 'on pause'" for 'RHOBH'. The spokesman claimed, "There was never any discussion with anyone about that concept. Her contract ended, and the parties mutually agreed not to engage on a new one. She felt her time on the show had run its course and she was more than happy to move on. And she still does not regret it."
Even though Rinna's departure significantly rattles up the franchise, most viewers were probably not overly surprised by it. The 'Melrose Place' veteran had a turbulent Season 12, which saw her square off against Kathy Hilton. At the emotional reunion, Kathy referred to Rinna as "the biggest bully in Hollywood." Most of the viewers appeared to agree. Rinna was, soon after, booed at BravoCon 2022.
Later this year, Bravo is expected to host the launch of the 13th season of 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills', which will mark the show's first without Rinna in ten years.
'Andy knows where all the bodies are buried'
Fans and followers quickly took to Twitter to comment on the fiasco. One user wrote: "Lisa Rinna is taking a pause, I pray it is a looooooooong pause (or a forever one). I don't know that I could tune into her again." Another tweeted, "So happy she is gone. Will try to watch it this season but if Erika hasn't changed I'll be out again." A third conjectured, "Rinna thought she was going to be so brazen as to throw down a statement that she was quitting, & Bravo would come running & begging, with more money to get her to stay. But Andy does finally get enough, & she got the shock of her life when he accepted right away." Someone else claimed, "Andy knows where all the bodies are buried," while another wrote, "She only quit because she knew the fans wanted her gone. Next is Erika Jayne."
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