Teddi Mellencamp, 39, revealed her true thoughts about Denise Richard’s exit from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills — and she didn’t sugarcoat them! “Are you happy Denise has left the show?,” a fan asked Teddi in an Instagram Story Q&A on Sept. 10, two days after Denise’s departure was announced. Teddi had an essay prepared — one that seemed to also reference the last Bravo star to leave RHOBH on bad terms with the cast.
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“Not surprised. I don’t know when and why the decision was made but anytime one person wants to be the ‘star’ of a show and control how they are portrayed when it’s about showing the truth as an ensemble it doesn’t end well,” the accountability coach replied. Teddi did have some kind things to say — well, kind of. “I wish [Denise] the best and hope she is thriving and happy. I also hope she stops referring to herself in the third person but I guess I have to let that part go,” she added, with the hashtag “#bravobravof–kingbravo.”
Teddi was using two inside jokes here: one, the fact that her co-star once boldly referred to herself as “Denise F–king Richards” after Kyle called The Bold and The Beautiful star a “ragamuffin.” The second joke was a reference to Denise yelling “Bravo, Bravo, F–king Bravo” after trying to avoid a confrontational conversation at a cast dinner (Kyle later explained that “Bravo Bravo Bravo” was a way of asking producers to cut the cameras for a makeup touchup in the early days of RHOBH).
While Teddi didn’t drop Lisa Vanderpump’s name, her mention about certain stars wanting to “control how they are portrayed” and that not “end[ing] well” brings to mind the cast’s frustrations with both LVP and Denise. Throughout Season 10, Denise was wrapped up in an affair scandal with Brandi Glanville that had the cast questioning if Denise was trustworthy (Teddi, in addition to Kyle Richards, Erika Jayne and Lisa Rinna, wondered if they could believe Denise after she denied Brandi’s claims that they hooked up and merely considered the RHOBH alum an “acquaintance”).
Meanwhile, in Season 9, many cast members were uncertain if they could trust LVP after the Vanderpump Rules star denied a rumor that she leaked information about Puppygate to Radar Online. The outlet’s report didn’t paint her co-star, Dorit Kemsley, in the best light since the headline alone read, “Lisa ‘Extra Hurt’ By Longtime Friend Dorit Over Abandoned Dog.” For a quick refresher, Dorit adopted a dog from LVP’s dog foundation, but had to ultimately give the pooch up.
Like Denise, LVP had to fight off her co-stars’ suspicions, which even ended her longtime friendship with Kyle. Now, it’s no surprise that Teddi in particular had harsh words for Denise, since Brandi accused Denise of allegedly saying that Teddi is “obnoxious” because she “would do anything to be in this group [the RHOBH ladies]” in an effort to get out of the “shadow” of her famous dad, John Mellencamp (Denise also denied this).