When The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills began its first season in 2010, Kyle Richards and Lisa Vanderpump developed a friendship no one thought would ever crumble, but they began feuding over the years. No matter what Lisa had done to Kyle in the past, she managed to move past it in hopes of salvaging a friendship. However, the bandaid Kyle slapped on the cracks in their friendship started to fall amid the famous “Puppygate” storyline during RHOBH season 9. Since then, the two have become enemies.
Both Kyle and Vanderpump joined RHOBH for its very first season. They were close friends before appearing on the show, and their friendship became stronger as the series progressed. Kyle always had Vanderpump’s back, even when she felt that she was wrong, but Vanderpump never seemingly reciprocated her loyalty back to Kyle. The friendship always seemed one-sided, ultimately becoming the demise of their close bond.
The RHOBH Season 2 Fight Explained
Kyle Started The Feud
During the RHOBH season 2 reunion in 2011, Kyle and Vanderpump’s friendship faced its first major falling out. Kyle called the restauranteur “calculated” and compared being in a friendship with her to “playing chess with Bobby Fischer.” Vanderpump was hurt by Kyle’s comparison, leading Lisa to distance herself from Kyle in the following season.
Kyle And Lisa’s RHOBH Feud Was Reignited
They Reconciled But Feuded Again
Though Kyle and Vanderpump tried to reconcile after the Bobby Fischer comparison on RHOBHseason 4, their feud was reignited. Brandi Granville claimed that Vanderpump planned to bring the tabloid stories containing cheating rumors about Kyle’s husband, Mauricio Umansky, on the cast trip to Puerto Rico. Kyle was disappointed that Lisa would engage in conversations about those infidelity rumors on camera, even though Kyle and Mauricio denied them. Lisa also denied that she wanted to bring the tabloids on the trip.
Drama With Yolanda Hadid Impacted Lisa And Kyle’s Relationship
Kyle Felt Used By LVP
Their friendship took another major hit during RHOBH season 6 after Lisa Rinna and Eileen Davidson claimed Vanderpump had tried to drag Kyle into the Yolanda Hadid (formerly Foster) controversy. Rinna suggested that Yolanda was lying about her Lyme disease diagnosis and implied she suffered from Munchausen syndrome. Even though Kyle had nothing to do with the gossip, Rinna and Eileen revealed Vanderpump had been trying to drag Kyle into it. Kyle was “annoyed” that she was pulled into the drama, but she managed to get over it fairly quickly.
Vanderpump put the blame on Rinna.
Puppygate Ended Lisa And Kyle’s Friendship
Kyle Didn’t Take Lisa’s Side
The scandal that ended the seemingly unbreakable friendship between Vanderpump and Kyle is the famous “Puppygate” storyline. It began when Dorit Kemsley adopted a dog from Vanderpump’s rescue, Vanderpump Dogs, and rumors emerged that she gave the dog to a kill shelter. Vanderpump reportedly planned to make Dorit look bad by involving Teddi Mellencamp.
Tabloids began covering the situation, with Dorit believing that Vanderpump leaked information to the press. Kyle then confronted her about it, which led to a huge blowout fight with her husband, Ken, at LVP’s home. He kicked her out of her home, with Vanderpump never to appear alongside the women again.
Are Kyle & Lisa Friends In 2024?
They Have Not Spoken Face-To-Face Since Their Season 9 Fight
Unfortunately, Kyle and Vanderpump could never get their friendship back to the way it was. Vanderpump was never able to forgive Kyle for not having her back following Puppygate and after she left the show. She held her friendship with Kyle to a certain standard that Kyle couldn’t keep up with. In fact, Vanderump has even called out Kyle on several occasions. During an interview on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Andy asked her if she regretted kicking Kyle out of her house in that famous scene during RHOBH season 9 (via Page Six). Vanderpump said:
Oh no! Not only that I don’t regret it, but I loved it!
Kyle and the rest of the current RHOBH cast have mentioned Vanderpump on and off the show, but it’s not usually anything nice. Kyle has spoken about Vanderpump, but she also doesn’t seem willing to mend their friendship either after their explosive RHOBH season 9 fight at Vanderpump’s home. However, Vanderpump can’t seem to stop talking about Kyle despite not wanting to reconcile either.
In April, Vanderpump was asked about Kyle’s possible romantic relationship with country singer Morgan Wade. Without skipping a beat, she says, “I don’t want to know who’s munching on anything. I don’t care!” (via TMZ). In typical Vanderpump fashion, she said something offensive without it being straight-up rude; it is her British humor.
Even though Vanderpump essentially diminished the friendship they had, she did seem empathetic towards her former friend after Kyle announced her separation from Mauricio last year. Vanderpump said she felt “very sad for her” as she knew Kyle held her marriage close to her heart and how she truely loved her now estranged husband (via People). This was a truly human moment from Vanderpump following her and Kyle’s fallout. She’s usually quite crass, and this was the first time since their friendship ended that Vanderpump had something nice to say.
Kyle continues to star in RHOBH, recently confirming she will be returning for RHOBH season 14. Vanderpump has moved on with other shows as well, focusing on Vanderpump Rules and Vanderpump Villa, which aired season 1 on Hulu. The pair will likely never be friends again, but their drama on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills before Vanderpump left the show was fascinating to watch.