Eileen Davidson: Our Honesty Has Made Us Targets

I’m deeply sorry for the pain that Yolanda endured during the first part of the reunion. Clearly she did not understand that her illness had become its own storyline to such an extent. I was disgusted and saddened and felt nothing but empathy for her as I watched her try to figure out what to believe. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: That chick is one strong woman. I have nothing but mad respect for her.

I also saw how Kathryn is still emotional about her past with Faye Resnick. She obviously experienced tremendous pain during that time in her life, and so did Faye. My wish for both of them is to move past the pain and find some resolution. The loss of Kathryn’s nephew was excruciating for her. Clearly she is still dealing with the shock and sadness. I hope in time she and her family can find some kind of peace amidst all the grief.

There’s something else I must address. Neither Lisa R. nor I have anything to gain by calling out Lisa V. It’s not like we get a bonus check from Bravo or a new BMW with a bow around it. No one throws us a pizza party. Nobody hands us a bunch of balloons. In fact, it makes our lives harder. Our honesty has made us targets for the hate and vitriol unleashed by Lisa V., her husband and her die-hard followers. So, I ask you all, with nothing to gain, and possibly our future on the show to lose, why would we do it?

Where have all the other women who had issues with Lisa V. gone? Oh yeah, they aren’t on the show anymore! The exception being Kyle, who tows the line of being honest without alienating Lisa V. so much it must be exhausting. And Yolanda, of course, and her relationship with Lisa V. is less than amicable. There’s always been a tense, weird energy between the two of them, and now I understand why.

Lisa R. was afraid of the retaliation from the aforementioned sources if she went there with Lisa V. The backlash has only proven she was right to be afraid. Oh, and by the way, I was very hesitant as well. But at a certain point I decided enough was enough. Erika was being thrown under the bus for having good instincts about LVP, and I knew there was no going back. Again, I wasn’t manipulating Lisa R. to bring this to light. We both knew it was the right thing to do, but, rightfully, it was hard.

It all goes back to motivation. Lisa R. has nothing to gain by saying that Lisa V. said, “Well there goes the f---ing storyline,” after Yolanda left Lisa R.’s birthday. Nothing. Lisa R. has admitted everything she’s done this season. She was open about being the one who brought up Munchausen. She admitted to Yolanda that she was saying things about her, her illness and her friendships with Brandi and Kim behind her back. Let’s not forget how the Munchausen conversation started, either. Lisa R. said she “engaged in a conversation” and she felt guilty about it. She fessed up. Forget who may or may not have encouraged her to talk about it, she said it because she felt guilty. Then, she even fessed up to Yolanda about it, too!

No one can claim Lisa R. is not an open book. No one can claim that she doesn’t own up to her words, even when she regrets them. It’s just her nature.

Conversely, Lisa V. has denied any involvement with anything over and over again. She continues to refuse to admit the truth, despite it being made very clear in Dubai that she HAD tried to drum up drama by pitting Kyle and Lisa R. against each other. She said when we had dinner at Malibu Cafe that she never called Lisa R., but Lisa R. has the phone records to prove otherwise. Lisa V. called her many times to influence Lisa R.'s position. Yet she refuses to admit to any wrongdoing and refuses to stop vilifying the people who are merely pointing out things about her that she doesn’t want to admit.

So, why would Lisa Rinna and I lie about this? The answer is: WE WOULDN’T.