Lisa Vanderpump, 58, officially announced she’s not returning to the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills this week after a rough season with her cast mates, and it turns out she’s not at all fazed about it and has confidence in her talents outside of the popular Bravo show. “I never wanted to make a career as a “housewife,” Lisa EXCLUSIVELY told HollywoodLife at the opening ceremony of L.A. Pride in West Hollywood on June 7. “I had 35 restaurants prior to that. I was pretty philanthropic all those years. So no, I don’t want to be defined as a housewife as much as I’ve loved and enjoyed many, many moments there and this can be a fantastic platform and I have an incredible relationship with Bravo, but I’m not going to be defined.”
Lisa, who has been a part of RHOBH for nine seasons, went on to say part of the reason for her departure is because she doesn’t want any unnecessary negativity in her life, especially after having to deal with the devastating loss of her brother, Mark Vanderpump, who committed suicide at the age of 59 in 2018. “For me, I go out of my way to avoid negativity and I’ve had a wonderful few seasons on the show, but it’s just too much,” she explained. “And yes, it was a difficult year for me and I think anybody who loses their only sibling to suicide would struggle with that regardless and for me, I wasn’t in the best shape. I was not in the best shape to deal with everything. You don’t just get over something like that in 10 or 12 weeks. I didn’t go out for 5 weeks. That’s my life and I take full responsibility for not being strong enough to cope with it.”
Despite the big impact Lisa’s absence in the reality show is going to make, the self-assured star is sure it’s her time to go and her intentions are to focus on her many other projects that keep her busy and are near and dear to her heart. “I’ve got my Vanderpump Dog Rescue, I’ve got other projects in the works, I’ve got 5 restaurants…I’ve just opened in Vegas,” she said. “I’m designing something at Caesars hotel, I’ve got three or four hundred people that work for me. I’m doing Vanderpump Rules, I’m an EP on that. All of my philanthropic endeavors — I work with GLAAD, I work with Trevor Project, I released a PSA.”
“I think nine seasons — I’ve done 300 episodes of reality television, that’s a lot,” she continued. “I think nine seasons it was good, it’s just a shame it ended like that. The negativity and the nastiness is something I’ve never thought anybody should have to endure.”