Lisa Vanderpump’s exit from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills after nine seasons came as a surprise to fans, but for others, the decision was a long time coming. Tom Sandoval, for one, could see the emotional wear and tear RHOBH took on his Vanderpump Rules costar.
“Honestly, if you’re in a place where you’re not happy and you’re stressed out all the time, I mean, you got to look out for your mental health, physical health,” Sandoval, 35, exclusively told Us Weekly at the MTV Movie and TV Awards in Santa Monica on Saturday, June 15. “You’ve got to look out for yourself, and I feel like she was not in a happy place on that show. It stressed her out a lot, I could tell. When she would come in and film with us, interact with us, I could see the stress that she would bring from filming Housewives, and I feel like she’s been wanting to get out of it for a while.”
That said, Sandoval understands the impact the 58-year-old’s departure has on the show. “It’s sad to see somebody who’s such a pillar in the Housewives of Beverly Hills leave,” he added. “But, you know, when you know it’s your time to go, you gotta go, you know what I mean? And I respect that.”
Vanderpump stopped filming RHOBH midway through the current ninth season amid allegations that she told the press about costar Dorit Kemsley’s dog ending up at a kill shelter. “I think everybody knew,” she said of her decision to leave in an exclusive interview with Us earlier this month. “It’s almost impossible for me to go back. How could I? It was too difficult.”
Sandoval, meanwhile, is no stranger to drama with Vanderpump: Ariana Madix, his girlfriend, confronted her in the Vanderpump Rules season 7 finale for bashing him and Tom Schwartz. But on Saturday, Sandoval told Us that the restaurateur and Madix, 33, are “doing good” now.
“Look, a lot happens really fast with our group,” he added, explaining that Vanderpump Rules fans have to “wait and see” to find out if Vanderpump and Madix hashed out all of their issues with one another.
Vanderpump Rules is expected to return for an eighth season. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs on Bravos Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
With reporting by Emily Marcus
