Denise Richards Reflects on the Downfall of Her 20-Year Friendship with Lisa Rinna: 'At What Cost?'
While opening up about her former friendship with Rinna, Richards questioned "how she could sacrifice a friendship of 20 years for a show that isn't gonna last forever"
Denise Richards is opening about the unfortunate way her longtime friendship with Lisa Rinna has unraveled following her stint on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
In her two-part appearance on Bethenny Frankel’s Just B podcast, Richards, 54, reflected on her fractured relationship with Rinna, 60, and how the Bravo series took a toll on their friendship.
"My experience with Lisa Rinna was so bad that I thought, 'OK, what would happen next season?'" she recalled on Frankel's podcast. "I did have a s—- experience. ... It wasn't good with Lisa Rinna and it was sad to me.”
She continued, "I had a 20-year friendship with her, and to see how she could sacrifice a friendship of 20 years for a show that isn't gonna last forever — obviously, she isn't on it anymore — like, at what cost?"
Related: Andy Cohen Reveals Why Denise Richards Left RHOBH: 'We Couldn't Reach an Agreement on the Deal'
Richards first joined the series in 2019 for season 9. Her decision to turn in her diamond came after a tense season 10, during which the actress found herself at odds with nearly all of her costars.
As fans know, Richards' last season was largely centered on drama, including her being upset that the topic of threesomes was brought up by her fellow Housewives at her family barbecue where her children were present. She also had a falling out with Rinna over rumors she had an affair with Brandi Glanville — allegations she’s adamantly denied.
Richards confessed she thinks the two would still be friends if not for her two-season stint on the show. "I think that you learn a lot about people when you live with them, travel or work with them. I had never worked with Rinna before," she added.
Despite her tumultuous journey on RHOBH, the Wild Things actress isn’t against returning to the series full-time now that Rinna has handed in her diamond.
"We'll see whatever happens,” she considered, before opening up about her decision to make an appearance in season 13. “I don't know if they'll ask me back, I just did a few episodes. I didn't call to say, 'Hey, can I come back?'"
Though Richards may be open to coming back to RHOBH, she hasn’t forgotten the feuds she’s had with the other Housewives. The actress confessed she didn’t know how her return would “make sense” given the animosity still shared between some of the ladies.
"After my second season, I also — because I wanted it to be real — thought, 'How would this make sense, if all the women f---ing hate me?'" she said. "Almost everyone did, except for Garcelle [Beauvais] and Sutton [Stracke], but everyone else was such an asshole to me."
Richards confirmed to Variety in April that she's "filmed some episodes" of RHOBH. Her surprise return comes two years after her exit was announced in September 2020.
Related: Garcelle Beauvais 'Hopes' Denise Richards Returns for Another Season of RHOBH After Affair Drama
"It's been fun. And you know, I'm a big fan of the show, so it was fun to go back and film a lot of stuff with them," she shared.
Richards explained that her return wasn't planned. "This all just happened recently on the spur of the moment," she explained. "I was at [Garcelle's] screening as a friend — like a real friend — I didn't tell anyone I was gonna be there. Production didn't know. I just showed up, like, for real life, as a real friend in real life."
"The next day, I was asked to go to some events — and so it's been actually fun," she added.
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The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.
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