Lisa Vanderpump knows a thing or two about making good reality TV.
After helping launch The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in 2010, the Bravo veteran, 64, has been able to become a staple in the genre while also protecting her family and marriage to Ken Todd from the spotlight.
“I was successful prior to being on reality television,” Vanderpump shared in Us Weekly’s new cover story. “I lived in a very beautiful house that we’d worked hard for and nobody had given Ken or me anything in our life … I was successful before. [Reality TV] was kind of documenting my life rather than creating a life through Housewives.”
Over the years, Vanderpump’s star continued to rise as she grew her businesses and participated in various shows like Vanderpump Rules.
Lisa Vanderpump Reveals Which ‘VPR’ Stars She Does — And Doesn’t — Talk To
Before Vanderpump Villa kicks off season 2 on Thursday, April 24, on Hulu, Vanderpump was asked to describe several shows she has been a part of in three words. What came next was plenty of laughs — and even some playful shade.
‘Vanderpump Villa’
“Delicious, naughty and sexy,” Vanderpump said about her Hulu series that takes place in an Italian castle. “It’s visually delicious. It’s definitely naughty, and it’s very sexy. I mean, those kids went at it for sure.”
‘Vanderpump Rules’
“Complicated, energetic and authentic,” Vanderpump declared. “When I see them working and then going out till three o’clock in the morning — there’s a lot of energy there. It makes you think, ‘How on earth?’”
While season 12 of Vanderpump Rules has begun filming with a new cast, Vanderpump is hopeful the new generation can be their true selves.
“That’s the key to great reality television [is] being true to yourself, but it’s also histrionics as well,” she said. “There’s a lot of that. There’s always a lot when they’re young, and they’re in Hollywood and then they go out.”
‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’
“One of them’s got to be superficial,” Vanderpump said about her experience. “It’s hard for me. I came out of that with a negative experience. It’s superficial, but it’s still elegant. You can say that visually. When I see those pictures of them, they kept that going, which I appreciate the beauty. And it can be spiteful.”
Despite leaving in 2019 after nine seasons, Vanderpump said she still has a lot of good memories from the show, especially from the early seasons.
“It’s not the show that we started off, which was just about six friends that were just up for a lot of fun,” she said. “That’s what it should be, a bloody good time.”
‘The Valley’
While Vanderpump doesn’t appear on the show, many of her former SUR employees like Kristen Doute and Jax Taylor have a prominent spot in the series.
“That seems complicated,” Vanderpump said about the series. “That’s on another level when I see the demise of marriages and the whole kind of aggression. Outrageous is one word for that. Untouchable and people love it.”
‘Vanderpump Rules Jax & Brittany Take Kentucky’
“It’s boring,” Vanderpump said. “I was a producer on that, but there wasn’t enough content. Painful, too long. How many episodes did they have? I think it was too long.”
In 2017, cameras rolled as Taylor, 45, ventured to Cartwright’s family farm in Kentucky to experience the southern lifestyle. While it only lasted for one season, Vanderpump said the show proved there were good memories in their relationship before they split.
“They were happy at the time. They were happy,” she said. “That meant a lot because we had such high hopes. We hoped for the best. … Maybe there is a world that he can clean it up and then he can get his eye on the ball and he can pull it together and they can remember those vows when they got married. Maybe.”
To hear more from Vanderpump, watch the video above and pick up the new issue of Us Weekly on newsstands now.
