On the latest episode of her podcast Heather Dubrow welcomed Lisa Rinna to discuss what’s going on with Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills drama, Yolanda Foster‘s health and divorce, and Lisa’s next television venture!
Heather Dubrow’s World is rapidly becoming Bravo Blogs, The Extended Version, but I find Heather to be a good host, with a fluid style of conversing with her guests. It’s not just a gossip show, but Heather genuinely tries to explore the topics and what’s going on. In short, Heather’s good at this. Bravo. [pun intended].
Heather and Lisa met in acting class 18-years-ago. Preempting Lisa’s appearance Heather declares, “She’s the exact same person. What you see on Beverly Hills Housewives – that’s who she is. There’s nothing put on about her.” Well, except her lips…
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Heather and Lisa’s hot topics span fake Housewives, how Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills is so different this year, marriage, The Kim & Kyle Dynamic (that deserves the all caps), all the crazy with Yolanda, and Brandi Glanville.
Beginning with Real Housewives Of Orange County‘s high ratings this season, which segues into how RHOBH has changed, Heather asserts, “I think the audience responded because the stories were real. They sort of cleaned house, got rid of people who were self-producing, and all that.” Uhhh… who? And if Meghan King Edmonds wasn’t a plant (with the IQ and personality of one as well), I don’t know fake tits from real ones anymore because I’ve been watching Bravo for so long.
“You need to be your authentic self! It’s about authentic storytelling and the truth,” champions Lisa.
This leads to a discussion about the Twisted Sisters Richards. Lisa and Heather are both riveted (as am I) by the dysfunctional world of Kyle and Kim! “Kyle’s so private about it – she really doesn’t share,” explains Lisa (what show is LIPSA watching?!). “She was taught not to open up that part of her life and keep it quiet. Which is such a dichotomy for them being on a reality show, obviously.” Yes. DUH Kim and Kyle. DUH.
Heather is surprised that growing up “in the business,” Kyle and Kim thought they could get away with keeping secrets. “You’re right,” Lisa agrees, “but they were taught from a very early age – all three of those girls, Kathy included – to keep your dirty laundry at home.” Does that exclude sex tapes?
Moving on to Yolanda’s divorce from David, Lisa and Heather muse that it’s “incredibly sad.” Heather asked if any of their marital issues came up during the season. “No. Not at this point,” states Lisa.
Although Lisa “sensed” something was amiss in YoDa paradise, and that it was connected to Yolanda’s illness. “I kept saying, ‘There’s something going on and it’s not being talked about, basically.'”
Heather probes for clarification, “Did you know what it was or were you just ‘sensing‘ something?”
Which begins the the discussion surrounding Yolanda’s illness. “I truly in my heart know that Yolanda Foster does have Lyme, and that is no question,” begins Lisa. BUT, because of of course there’s a BUT…
Lisa implies Yolanda’s symptoms have a psychological component. “Sometimes you have to connect your head to your heart, and figure out what’s going on emotionally in your life that you’re not dealing with. And that is what going on in my mind throughout the season.”
Heather asks if Lisa believes what was happening in Yolanda’s life was manifesting in her symptoms. “Possibly,” acknowledges Lisa, who’s so-far kept her theory to herself during filming. “I never say it to Yolanda straight-out, but… I just kept thinking something’s going on emotionally that she’s not dealing with.”
Back to the divorce, Heather wonders about the “reality television curse on marriage” (Lisa and Harry have been married 23 years).
Before Lisa joined the show Heather shared her opinion. “I don’t know if it’s the reality show, or just Hollywood in general, but when you’re not together enough it’s just too hard,” she articulated. Of the Lyme impact, Heather believes, “When you don’t have the strong foundation before the illness, it really takes it’s toll.” BUT. BUT… BUT… I thought YoDa were soul mates and the very incarnation of earth-shattering, true love?! I thought Disney was even making a movie about them!
“I don’t think you can blame it on a reality show,” disagreed Lisa. “What a reality show does, is anything going on in your life, it polarizes it. You cannot hide anything.”
Heather suggests that many couples think a reality show will fix things. “It’s like the ‘1950’s Let’s have another baby and then we’ll be happy…'”
Lisa thinks it has more to do with the surprising amount of work a reality show actually is, which couples aren’t prepared for. “It’s a job. It’s a J-O-B. And the fact that Yolanda is even able to do it, as ill as she is, shocks me. And has shocked me throughout the entire season.”
Heather posits that reality shows expose the “imbalance of power” in some marriages. “When the dynamics change, and it’s very public, I think that’s very difficult for people to deal with.” Heather also stresses that couples not being physically together because of the demands of the show, etc. creates strain.
Heather moves into discussing RHOBH and wants to know the dirt, and also how Lisa feels about her second season. Prior to joining the show Kyle warned Lisa not to have a plan and to be authentic. (Irony at it’s finest, there!), because it will “backfire.” Lisa took those words to heart and insists, “I try to just live in the moment.”
Lisa compares being on RHOBH to “fastballs are being thrown at the back of your head and you never know when you’re gonna get your mitt up to catch it. Or it’s gonna hit you in the back of your head.” Sounds like a dream job! Does Bravo offer Worker’s Comp? “The best thing you can do is listen,” she preaches.
Lisa describes season 6 as “completely different” and “very authentic, very based in reality. Nobody was doing anything to cause a reaction, to create something to happen.”
Heather wonders if it’s the impact of new girls Erika Jayne and Kathryn Edwards?
“I can’t put my finger on it exactly, because I’m only in certain scenes with them,” explores Lisa. “So I have no idea what they’re like in their interviews or at home, so I can’t really tell…” Sounds like some shady business went on and Lisa doesn’t trust one of the new ladies.
“I only know my side, what I saw. You don’t know what’s being filmed with all the other people, you don’t know what the people are saying in their interviews…” Lisa elaborates.
Heather explains this distinction, as it pertains to the many, many Housewives disagreements. “We don’t know what anyone else is filming,” she clarifies. “So you know what you’re filming, and you go to these parties, and you go on trips, but you don’t have all the information.”
“It’s like a Scooby-Doo mystery the entire time,” laughs Lisa. “And they’re evil geniuses because they make you write those blogs, so you have to watch yourself – which I would never do as an actor!” Both Heather and Lisa hate watching themselves on TV, particularly Housewives. Terry “loves” watching himself and re-watches episodes of Botched “over and over.”
Of the new girls Lisa knew Kathryn casually, but didn’t know Erika at all. “She’s this really interesting enigma,” Lisa explains. “She’s two people: she’s Erika Jayne and Erika Girardi.”
Erika Girardi is a perfect hostess with a gorgeous home (“you’d flip your lid over it”), married to a super-wealthy, successful litigator (“And he’s really sweet.”). Then there’s Erika Jayne, the “video vixen.”
“I just don’t know enough about her,” Lisa acknowledges. Yet Lisa emphasizes they don’t stir up trouble to cause a reaction, such as “throwing a glass of wine in somebody’s face for no reason.” Which means it’s time to duh-duh-duh… talk about Brandi. (I saved the worst for last).
Lisa and Heather don’t like that Brandi is “fully honest” about her behavior being motivated by keeping her job and staying relevant. “That’s the problem,” critiques Heather. “You have to create a whole storyline that doesn’t exist…” “…based on why somebody did something like that so they could somehow save their job,” finishes Lisa. “We don’t have that going on this year.” [Thank you Jesus!]
“The audience has a bullshit meter,” quips Heather.
“It is easy to work off of people like that, to be honest. They’re just such game players to play with because they just give it to you on a platter. This year was different,” describes Lisa. “All the women that are on the show this year are very mature, very smart, very grounded, very centered. There’s no crazy. I don’t think! So you’re dealing in reality.”
“It’s so layered – it’s like an onion. And what ends up happening; you’ll never guess,” Lisa teases. “I could have never have imagined it. It’s so fascinating!”
“But I feel like it’s really real, and I don’t know quite how that’s gonna come across because people are used to big explosive things happening.”
“There’s no real big blowups, it’s just real people calling each other out. Big. Time.” Oh man… I CANNOT WAIT! Who gets called out!? Who is the bad guy!? “I’m really interested, to see how it’s gonna play out. Now with the added information we have…” adds Lisa. (meaning Yolanda).
Lisa questions why Yolanda and David announced their divorce on premiere night. Heather is curious as well.
“The only thing I could think is that she had a terrible season and to do damage control so we watch it already feeling bad for her,” posits Heather. “We’re trying to figure that out,” says Lisa, carefully. Lisa deems the premiere night announcement a “real interesting choice,” and repeats, “I just don’t get it.”
Heather attempts to excuse it as a “calculated thing” and tries blaming their publicist. “I was really thrown for a loop,” admits Lisa. Lisa just seems so suspicious of Yolanda’s motive and behavior. IN-TER-REST-TING.
Lisa and Heather discuss why they love reality TV. “It’s like improv to me. I can say whatever I want. I just love it!” gushes Lisa. She also praises the promotional opportunities reality TV provides. But admits the emotional involvement is wearying.
“It’s fun when you’re playing with authentic people, it’s not fun when you’re playing with someone who has an agenda, because it doesn’t move in a fluid way,” gripes Heather.
“You can’t hide who you are forever!” Heather concludes. Heather also chides Housewives who come on and promote random products which aren’t authentic to them.
Of the emotional ramifications of reality TV, for Lisa and Heather it’s hard to separate from the drama once cameras stop rolling. “I can’t just drop it at the end of the day. You’re dealing with real people, and real situations, and real friendships,” explains Lisa. “I don’t like to be confrontational, yet I’m on a show where I have to confront people and say how I feel.”
“You have to have an opinion!” inserts Heather.
“You have to think out loud,” Lisa continues. “I can’t let it go, because it’s personal. It’s a mindf–k! Yes, we are doing a TV show, but these are people who I have close personal feelings and relationships with and I don’t know where to put the two.”
Heather compares reality TV to a VENN Diagram; there’s reality, what you film, and where it intercepts. “And what you don’t film!” chimes in Lisa. They again discuss the impact of what you don’t film, combined with what you don’t know your co-stars film.
“What you talk about in your interviews, and the way they you ask questions, which makes you believe that the story’s being told in a certain way, and it’s not!” Heather declares. “And they change gears, and you don’t know…” Lisa agrees. “It’s crazy-making!”
The catch-22, according to Heather, is that if you shut down the emotional component, “you’re not in the moment anymore and if you’re not invested in what’s going on, then you can’t react.”
“What I find hard is having to be accountable for every. single. thing. that comes out of your mouth,” laments Heather, who admits her sarcasm doesn’t always come across. “And if you’ve said something wrong, and you’ve hurt someone, you have to apologize,” Lisa says. “That’s difficult.”
“I don’t like that notion that someone can make something up about you,” adds Heather. Which Lisa knows all too well. “That’s the worst part about reality television,” she concedes. “Once it’s out there in the universe…”
“That’s what I think is dangerous about these shows, because the girls that are the most desperate are the ones that throw this stuff out there,” expresses Lisa. “I just never expected it, and once it does happen to you, or someone you care about, you just go, ‘That should NOT be OK.'”
Lisa and Heather also leaked that there is A MONTH between when filming officially wraps and the reunion tapes, but following the reunion there’s a 3 month break.
So what is next for Lisa? She landed a talk show for NBC! It’s a male/female pop culture panel show featuring other celebrities, and the pilot films in January. “Without doing the Housewives I probably would have not gotten this show,” Lisa says of how RHOBH reinvigorated her career.
TELL US – WHAT DO YOU THINK OF LISA AND HEATHER’S DISCUSSION ABOUT REALITY TV? IS THERE SOMETHING ELSE GOING ON WITH YOLANDA?
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