Sneaky, sneaky! Lisa Vanderpump and her husband, Ken Todd, snuck out of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 9 premiere party before her castmates arrived.
The restauranteurs and their dog Harrison arrived at Gracias Madre in West Hollywood at approximately 5:45 p.m. Vanderpump, 58, did a series of interviews “very quickly and then tried to exit the press area,” an eyewitness tells Us Weekly exclusively.
After making the rounds, the Vanderpump Rules star and Todd, 73, left the party. Her costars Kyle Richards, Erika Jayne and Teddi Mellencamp did not start filtering in until about 20 minutes later. “By that time, Lisa and Ken were totally gone,” the onlooker notes. (A source close to Vanderpump tells Us that she “had a family and friends dinner at Tom Tom at 6:30 p.m.”)
Later on, Richards, 50, told Us that she “didn’t get a chance” to greet the couple. “I was hoping to be able to say hello and say congratulations on season 9, but she left already,” the former child star said.
For her part, Mellencamp, 37, acknowledged that “It’s been a while” since she last spoke to Vanderpump, but she is not purposely keeping her distance. “I’m an adult and I can be cordial,” the accountability coach told Us. “But I can’t speculate on how I’d feel or act if the person isn’t here.”
Jayne, 47, was a bit more blunt. “I mean, she came in early,” the singer pointed out, adding that she also has not spoken to the Vanderpump Rules star. “It is an all-cast event and, you know, she’s a professional, so …”
Though Vanderpump and Todd managed to prematurely escape, the eyewitness tells Us that the rest of the cast “seemed closer than ever” at the premiere. Later in the evening, they all headed to Craig’s restaurant to have dinner together.
The season 9 premiere of RHOBH kicked off with Vanderpump and Todd arguing with Richards. The cold open ended with the SUR owner screaming at her onetime pal to “get the f–k out” of her house.
Us broke the news in October 2018 that Vanderpump — whose season 9 tagline is “You can stab me in the back, but whilst you’re there, kiss my ass” — was on the outs with her castmates after a dog that Dorit Kemsley adopted from Vanderpump Dogs ended up in a shelter.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs on Bravo Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
With reporting by Emily Marcus
