Denise Richards Makes Clear Whether There's Any Hope For Lisa Rinna Reconciliation
If you've ever wondered if any of the "Real Housewives" drama that happens on screen still carries over when the cameras are no longer rolling, let us point you to the great falling out of Denise Richards and Lisa Rinna. The two "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" stars' on-air feud led to the end of a 20-year off-screen friendship. Rinna has indicated that she'd like to mend fences with her old friend, but what about Richards?
The rift began in Season 10 of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," which was Richards' second year as part of the cast. Brandi Glanville, another former cast-mate and nuclear power plant of reality TV drama in human form, claimed that she and Richards had had an affair — while Richards was still married to her husband. Richards denied the story but Rinna seemed to take Glanville's side, angrily confronting her friend about the cease-and-desist letter Richards apparently sent to Glanville, per Us Weekly. (It's the "Real Housewives" did you think these fights were going to be straightforward?)
Rinna eventually apologized to Richards, which she proved with screenshots of texts in an Instagram Story (via Us Weekly). Now, Richards has opened up about how she feels about the debacle today, and whether she's ready to forgive and forget.
Denise Richards says she can't be friends with Rinna
On "Real Housewives of Dubai" star Caroline Stanbury's podcast, "Divorced Not Dead," Denise Richards opened up about all of it. She talked Lisa Rinna, the feud, her regrets, and the future. "I was so devastated to lose a 20-year friendship with Lisa Rinna," Richards said. "That's the truth and that's why I was so upset during my second season." Watching the episodes after filming had wrapped, Richards said she was injured all over again to see what Rinna had been saying. "But more than that it was what Rinna did to me in the press and on her socials and stuff. It crushed me. Like girl, it's a reality show, what are you doing?"
Soon after the Season 10 reunion show filmed, Rinna definitely didn't hold back in her IG Stories. In one, for instance, she appeared to call Richards "phony," per Hollywood Life.
Richards said the fall out was so devastating that after the Season 10 reunion, she made the decision not to return to the show for another year. And things aren't looking any better for the future of their friendship. "I haven't spoken to her," said Richards. "She did reach out to me last year I believe. She did apologize, but that doesn't mean it's all okay." Richards admitted, "I miss her. I miss our old friendship." But now, she said, she couldn't be friends with Rinna again.