Over it and owning it. Lisa Rinna remained part of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast in season 12 despite mother Lois’ death — which proved to be more difficult than she expected.
“I fucking hated this year. For a lot of reasons,” Rinna, 59, told Interview magazine on Friday, January 13. “My mom died, we all know that. But that’s not the biggest reason. The story just didn’t get told as two-sidedly as I would’ve liked. How about that?”
Filming for season 12 of the Bravo series began shortly after the death of Rinna’s mother in November 2021. Dealing with the loss of a parent in addition to the global coronavirus pandemic made for a “rough” year for the former soap opera star.
“Something has gotten to the Housewife Universe because of what’s going on in the world, and it’s reflected in the way the fans react to the world of Housewives,” she told the outlet. “And I just think it’s unhealthy. It wasn’t working for me. It wasn’t right for me.”
While the Days Of Our Lives alum shared that filming the Bravo series was “fun,” once the show went “out into the universe,” things took a turn for the worse.
“It takes on a life of its own,” she explained. “When filming, you have your drama, but it’s contained in a sense. And once it goes out, you get opinions and all the stuff that goes on, that’s the part I don’t like.”
For Rinna, season 12 became especially difficult after an alleged “smear campaign” was orchestrated against her by Kathy Hilton in Aspen, Colorado. The California native claimed at the time that Hilton, 63, made negative comments about her sister Kyle Richards behind the scenes after a night out at a club.
After Hilton denied the allegations, Rinna doubled down on her claims, leading to a blowout argument between the twosome at the season 12 reunion, which aired in October 2022.
“It was unfortunate that there weren’t cameras in Aspen. It was something that happened so spontaneously,” she revealed. “In the moment, I didn’t think to turn on my voice memos. When somebody’s having a nuclear breakdown, you don’t think, ‘Oh, I should be filming this.’ That doesn’t come across your mind.”
Rinna announced she was leaving the RHOBH on January 5 after eight years as a central castmember.
“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,” she told Us Weekly in a statement at the time. “It has been a fun 8-year run and I am excited for what is to come!’”
The Melrose Place alum’s rep added that because her contract was “up at the end of last season,” Rinna took the “time to weigh her current options and business obligations” and ultimately “mutually decided” with Bravo that she would not return to the franchise.
Following the news of her exit, former costar Lisa Vanderpump — whom Rinna has feuded with multiple times over the years — took to social media to seemingly shade the Veronica Mars actress at the time, tweeting, “Ding dong.” The comment appeared to reference lyrics from the song “Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead,” which was featured in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.
“That’s what everybody said when she left the show,” Rinna joked to Interview when asked about the 62-year-old’s comment.
