The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills won’t feel the same without the show’s biggest villain. After eight years of stirring the pot, smashing glasses, and her iconic hair-do, Lisa Rinna won’t return to the beloved Bravo series for Season 13. After last year, which viewers described as incredibly dark, Rinna was no longer the fan favorite. Nor was she the Housewife the fans loved to hate. They just hated her. Mainly because of the way she treated Sutton Stracke and Garcelle Beauvais.
And she just became increasingly arrogant. Calling herself the LeBron James of the Real Housewives franchise and saying the show can’t survive without her made her just that much more unlikable. And after BEGGING for her firing, it’s here.
In a statement to People, Rinna said, “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 added, “It has been a fun eight-year run and I am excited for what is to come!”
Wow. I mean, WOW! With Lisa’s exit, which I was sure would never come, it almost feels like anything is possible. What could this mean for her besties, Erika Jayne and Dorit Kemsley? I really don’t think Kyle Richards would ever be fired from the show, so her position always remains. But if production is trying to split the Fox Force Five up, taking another one out could make sense.
Her departure doesn’t surprise me. Andy Cohen, Sutton, and Kyle have all said the show is taking a brief hiatus before reconvening in the new year. In other words, most of us assumed a cast shakeup was coming. At BravoCon 2022, Lisa had a tough weekend as she was BOOED when she was introduced on the RHOBH panel. She took a brutal lashing from Kathy Hilton during the last half of the season, and at the reunion, for being “the biggest bully in Hollywood” and causing a significant rift between her and her sister Kyle.
And now that I think about it, I don’t remember seeing much of her on Watch What Happens Live this past season, either. What I do know is that the show won’t feel the same without her. Yes, I’m part of the crew that said I’d enjoy a season without her, but truthfully, I never expected it to happen. At the same time, I’ve always said that Lisa is great tv and even better for the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and losing her could potentially send RHOBH into its flop era.
You know–the era we’re in right now with the Real Housewives of Atlanta, the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, and the Real Housewives of Orange County. And we all saw what happened to the Real Housewives of Dallas after they let their show’s biggest star go for a season. They went on a PERMANENT hiatus.
Thankfully, Bravo and Peacock have done a great job creating new, engaging content for fans of the Bravoverse to enjoy and binge. What that means is seeing Rinna on the Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip or a series like The Traitors is always possible. AND we’ll definitely see her on more WWHL episodes as she takes on new opportunities, and we may even see her at BravoCon 2023. You know what these Housewives say, “Never say never.”
TELL US – ARE YOU SURPRISED THAT RINNA IS LEAVING RHOBH? HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT HER EXIT? DO YOU THINK THE SHOW WILL BE THE SAME WITHOUT HER?
[Photo Credit: Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for MTV]
