Inside Lisa Vanderpump and Kyle Richards' Explosive RHOBH Fight: Why They Haven't Talked Since
They teased it the first episode of the season. And after weeks of waiting, Tuesday’s Real Housewives of Beverly Hills finally showed the explosive fight between Lisa Vanderpump and Kyle Richards.
The moment — which marked the last time the two longtime friends have spoken to one another — came as Richards, 50, stopped by to see Vanderpump, 58, at her Villa Rosa home to discuss the fallout related to the PuppyGate drama.
For most of the ongoing scandal, Vanderpump and Richards have been on good terms — Richards staying by Vanderpump’s side even as Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave claimed Vanderpump tried to set her up to expose the negative storyline against fellow Housewife Dorit Kemsley. But on Tuesday’s episode, Richards’ point of view seem to take a turn when PuppyGate leaked to the press in two articles that made it hard for her to see Vanderpump’s innocence.
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The first was a piece, published by Radar Online in September, that pained Kemsley as a villain. It alleged that she had adopted a dog from Vanderpump Dogs and dumped it off at a local animal shelter shortly thereafter, hurting Vanderpump and her organization in the process.
The second article, published the following day by TMZ, featured Vanderpump denying on the record that Kemsley had done anything wrong. “She would not drop the dog off at a shelter,” Vanderpump told the outlet’s cameras, explaining that Kemsley had thought she was giving the pooch to a loving home and that it was actually the dog’s new owner who handed off the pet to the shelter. “It was unfortunate.”
Both made Vanderpump look guilty in the eyes of Richards and the RHOBH cast, who all felt Vanderpump had leaked both stories to make Kemsley look bad and her Vanderpump Dogs foundation look good.
Torn between what she believed to be the truth and the loving feelings she had about Vanderpump, Richards met with the SUR restaurateur to bring up her concerns.
It wasn’t easy. “I’m dreading going to Lisa’s house. In the past, I defended her. But this time, it’s very different,” Richards told audiences, explaining she felt like she had an obligation to tell Vanderpump how she felt. “As difficult as it is, I have to be honest with Lisa and I know Lisa’s going to be upset. If I were to look at my daughters and how I’m raising them, I would tell them, ‘You have to defend what’s right.’ And that’s what I’m trying to do right now.”
Things started off positively at first, though it didn’t take long for them to go south.
After explaining that Kemsley was hurt by the reports, Richards brought her allegations forth to Vanderpump. “If you read the article, it sounds like it comes from your camp,” Richards said. “You always say when you look at an article, see who it benefits, right? Well, that was only like, ‘Lisa’s so great and the Vanderpump foundation’s great’ and it was bad for Dorit. … It seems as if you wanted to get ahead of it so that people believe you instead of Dorit in this whole argument.”
Vanderpump was shocked by the claim. “It sounds like it comes from me?” she asked. “You think I’m going to give a story to Radar Online and then I’m going to go to TMZ and refute a story I’ve given to Radar Online? Do you think I would give a story to Radar Online about Dorit?”
Richards’ answer was yes. “It’s so blatant,” she said, frankly — adding that “everyone” felt that. “Maybe you care more about your image than your friendships.”
That was the moment Vanderpump seemed to end her friendship with Richards. “Wow, this is a big shock to me. This changes everything,” she said. “I’ve done nothing wrong. Just because you accuse me, I am not going to say, ‘Yes I did something’ if I didn’t do it. I’m a woman with integrity who stands up for what’s right. I could have thrown her under the bus. But I’m done. I’m done with you, too.”
“Kyle, I swear on my children’s life — on Giggy’s life — that no one or anyone I know would give a story to Radar about Dorit. You think I did that? I’m done with you, too. Bye Kyle. Show yourself out, darling.”
Though Vanderpump may have been “done” with Richards, Richards was by no means “done” with Vanderpump.
She stressed that she was there to be a friend to Vanderpump, telling her, “I’m here as your friend. I’m the only one. … Am I not allowed to be honest now? I’m just telling you how it’s looked. That doesn’t mean I don’t love you.”
Ken Todd, Vanderpump’s husband, didn’t agree. “You’re not her friend,” he repeated to Richards. “You’re supposed to be her friend. You cannot be her friend when you say something like that. She would never say that about you. You’re a f—ing liar and you’re not my friend or her friend. So you get out. Please go. Please go. Join the gang … ganging up on her. … Twelve years of friendship, done!”
RELATED: Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave Talks Falling Out With Lisa Vanderpump: ‘She Set Me Up’
It was a heartbreaking scene for both, and it only got worse from there. As Richards continued to tell Vanderpump that she loved her, a hurt Vanderpump declared, “I don’t care whether you love me or not.”
“What am I supposed to say?” asked Richards. “I don’t know why you would do something like that but it felt like you did! That’s what it looks like! I didn’t come here to fight. I came here to tell you this is the overall consensus. I care about you and I’m having a hard time defending you!”
“You came here to tell me I am a liar. And I don’t appreciate that,” Vanderpump shouted back. “If you came around and said to me, ‘I’m telling you on [your daughters] life, that is not the truth and I know nothing about this story,’ you know what sweetie? I’d believe you. So we’re done. Get the f— out of my house. I swear to you, I’m done with this!”
She added to audiences: “Those lying bitches, they can go f— themselves, all of them. For Kyle to say that to me? I’m done.”
Back in February, Richards said on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen that since filming that scene, any attempts to contact Vanderpump have gone unanswered. “I’ve sent a text and an email,” she said. “I don’t know if I’m blocked or supposedly blocked, but that’s the last time we spoke.”
In a March BravoTV.com blog, Vanderpump said she has no intention of patching things up with Richards, calling their friendship “finished.”
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs Tuesdays (9 p.m. ET) on Bravo.
