"Should go on pause but absolutely come back": Andy Cohen claims RHOBH star Lisa Rinna "quit" after season 12 reunion

Bravo host Andy Cohen spilled many housewives secret in his newly released book, The Daddy Diaries: The Year I Grew Up. One of them was Lisa Rinna's sudden departure from Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (RHOBH) after season 12 reunion and ahead of season 13 filming. While fans specuated that the housewife was fired, the host set the record straight in his book.

Andy Cohen revealed that Lisa Rinna quit the show after filming season 12 reunion with a late night text, but then changed her mind. He wrote in his book:

“I think [Lisa] should go on pause but absolutely come back. Feels like she has a toxic relationship with the show at this point, and taking a breath away could do everyone good. We mutually agreed with Rinna that she should take a break from the show (this is a real pause)”.

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Andy Cohen dishes more on Lisa Rinna's exit from RHOBH

Lisa Rinna had a very tumultuous journey on season 12 of RHOBH. Aside from regular feuds and disagreements with fellow housewives, it was her incident with Kathy Hilton during the cast trip to Aspen that blew up to become a big issue. However, no cameras captured the event.

While Lisa Rinna claimed Kathy Hilton was upset and screamed at castmates, insulting them and her sister Kyle Richards, the latter called out the fellow housewife as the "biggest bully in Hollywood" during the RHOBH season 12 reunion.

Host Andy Cohen appeared on SiriusXM’s Smith Sisters Live to promote his book and dished more about Lisa Rinna's exit. He revealed how, two days before he earned his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the housewife blew up his phone with texts about Kathy's alleged behavior during the Aspen trip.

The host expressed how all of this happened amidst social media leaks targeting Kathy's behavior. Apparently, he even asked Lisa and fellow cast member and good friend Erika Jayne if they were leaking anything to the press, but they declined.

Andy Cohen then asked the Smith Sisters Live co-hosts - Mariah, Rachel and Lauren Smith - about the tea he spilled in his book about Lisa Rinna quitting RHOBH. In response, Lauren said:

"That was wild to me because I had understood the narrative as her having been fired...And was mind-blown when she texted immediately that night after the reunion being like, 'I'm out.' But then, it was like, 'Actually, no I'm not.' And then, it's like, 'Well, now you're on pause.'"

Cohen further revealed in his book that the RHOBH producers "ended the day wondering if there was a path forward for Lisa," after she targeted Kathy for her behavior during the Aspen trip that wasn't documented. The Bravo host, however, explained that he thought it was a "smart move" when Lisa texted him late that night about quitting the show.

Andy Cohen expressed how he wished the housewife would've fared a better exit and not ended her journey with her feud with Kathy. He, however, "based on some correspondence with the team" soon found out that she wasn't quitting the show. He felt that "she should go on pause but absolutely come back."

In January 2023, Lisa Rinna revelaed to PEOPLE that she was leaving RHOBH. Her exclusive statement read:

"This is the longest job I have held in my 35 year career and I am grateful to everyone at Bravo and all those involved in the series. It has been a fun eight-year run and I am excited for what is to come!"

After Andy Cohen claimed that Lisa quit the show after filming the reunion, the housewife's representative told E! News on Friday, May 12, 2023, that she wasn't "on pause."

"There was never any discussion with anyone about that concept. Her contract ended, and the parties mutually agreed not to engage on a new one. She felt her time on the show had run its course and she was more than happy to move on. And she still does not regret it."

Lisa isn't the only housewife to bid farewell to the Bravo reality series. Following her announcement, fellow castmate Diana Jenkins also announced her exit from RHOBH due to her high-risk pregnancy and doctor-advised bed rest.