generic Lisa Vanderpump reveals why she 'had to leave' Real Housewives of Beverly Hills: 'It was too negative for me'
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When Lisa Vanderpump left The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills at the end of its ninth season, it was unclear what her future on reality TV would look like. She still lorded over her spinoff series Vanderpump Rules, but fans wondered if someone who had been so pervasive on Bravo for the better part of a decade would be content to just float in and out of a show that centered around her (current and former) employees.
Turns out, Vanderpump had a few other ideas up her pink, silk sleeve: The restauranteur returned this year with two new series on two Bravo sister networks: Overserved with Lisa Vanderpump premiered on E! earlier this year and sees her throwing dinner parties at her famed home Villa Rosa, and Vanderpump Dogs premieres on June 9th on the streaming service Peacock.
For the latest episode of In The Know’s pop culture interview series We Should Talk, Lisa Vanderpump discusses bringing her passion for dog advocacy to streaming through Vanderpump Dogs, reflects on why she left Real Housewives behind, teases the upcoming season of Vanderpump Rules and more.
“Housewives I had to leave. I got to a point where it was too negative for me. At the time, my brother had just died, and I was looking for happiness in my life. It just wasn’t a good time for me at all,” Vanderpump told In The Know. “To be the recipient of gang-ups again? I just said, ‘Okay,’ [and] I walked away, but I did do nine and a half years. It was a long time. It wasn’t like I was on it for a minute!”
Listen to Vanderpump Dogs star Lisa Vanderpump’s full episode of We Should Talk below, and keep reading for highlights from the interview:
Lisa Vanderpump on leaving RHOBH and deciding to do other shows: “I never really know what’s coming, but I’m just always excited about new ventures. Overserved is so much fun. […] It’s just such a fun show, and I never thought I’d do that, but it was in COVID, and we did it very safely. I love cooking and entertaining, so that was something I’ve always wanted to do, just for visuals and the beauty. I always try to speak to my passions and what’s authentic, so to have the dog rescue as something that is absolutely a passion project for all of us [and] to make a show about it makes sense. Housewives I had to leave. I got to a point where it was too negative for me. At the time, my brother had just died, and I was looking for happiness in my life. It just wasn’t a good time for me at all. To be the recipient of gang-ups again? I just said, ‘Okay,’ [and] I walked away, but I did do nine and a half years. It was a long time. It wasn’t like I was on it for a minute! Vanderpump Rules has been an incredible kind of vehicle and adventure, too, and that keeps going. […] I didn’t know where I would be. All I know is I follow my passions. Authenticity is absolutely key, and I think you feel that in Vanderpump Rules, and you feel that in Overserved, [where] you see Pandora and I do everything together.”
Lisa Vanderpump on the upcoming season of Vanderpump Rules: “Even though we’ve just started filming a while ago, already… wow! It just never stops. It really does feel like these people have been locked up as well. [That energy is] very much so [apparent]. We’re probably just about a quarter of the way through filming, and it really is full-on. There are a lot of opinions, there are a lot of dynamics, and it’s moving very, very quickly, I have to say. I thought maybe they’d be a little sleepier after COVID, but they’re not. They’re not. There are definitely a lot of complicated dynamics, and certainly some things have been festering through COVID that people want to get off their chests. That’s an amazing show.”
Lisa Vanderpump on Vanderpump Dogs: “The premise of the show is trying to find these dogs the perfect person, and trying to find the perfect dog for the person that comes through the door. We’re very stringent on rules, doing background checks, home checks, so to speak, and seeing where the home is that they’re going to, and matching the right dog with the right person. A lot of this show is poignant, some of it is sad when you see some of the dogs’ stories, where they’ve come from, and if they’ve been abused or neglected, and it’s their second chance. It’s a beautiful thing. I loved doing this show. I just thought it was beautiful.”
Lisa Vanderpump on her fervent fanbase: “When I go to appearances, like when I used to go to rosé signings, it was very important to me — and everybody will speak to this — that I would stay until I saw every single person, even if I was there [for] six hours. I think people relate to me on a very emotional level over so many different things. They’ll grab my hand and say, ‘Thank you for doing everything you do for the LGBTQ community.’ Or, ‘My heart broke when your brother committed suicide, and I’ve lost somebody.’ Or they’ll speak to me about adoption, or they’ll speak to me about marriage, because I’ve been married for so long. All of my passions. People relate to me on many different levels, and I’ve had the chance to show that [on] over 500 episodes of reality television. It’s a lot! […] My supporters — I never like to say ‘fans,’ because what are they a fan of? I’m just a person living my life — but my supporters? I’m connected to [them] on social media, and I’ve had some difficult times on reality television, and I couldn’t have gotten through it without the support. So, yeah, maybe that does kind of breed some kind of real relationship between you and your fans, and a kind of loyalty.”
Watch In The Know’s full interview with Lisa Vanderpump below, and tune into Vanderpump Dogs on Peacock starting June 9.
If you enjoyed this story, check out In The Know’s recent interview with Real Housewives of New Jersey’s Dolores Catania.
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The post Lisa Vanderpump is focused on bringing her ‘passions’ to TV in her life after ‘Real Housewives’ appeared first on In The Know.
