However, sources close to Richards insist that she was so over the show that she told the network she was leaving without even giving it the chance to negotiate.
A source shares that the truth is that the actress asked for an “excessive” amount of money to return to the show for a third season — and the network wouldn’t cough up the cash.
“People think that she didn’t want to come back and that it’s because she got ‘mean-girled’ [by other cast members]. The truth is she did want to come back. But [Bravo] didn’t want to pay her what she asked for. It was way out of her pay grade.”
Sources in Richards’ camp say she loved her first season on the show, but had a “rough” second season, battling with seemingly all of her co-stars, plus former cast member Brandi Glanville.
“Bravo called her last week to ask her if she wanted to return, and she took a couple of days to think about it,” they said, adding that by Wednesday, her agent had let Bravo know she had decided to call it quits — and that was the end of the story.
Meanwhile, the first source called that version of events nonsense and said, “She would happily have come back, but for a huge price.”
They added that Bravo executives “negotiated a lot” with the Denise, but there was a big gulf between what she wanted and what the network was willing to pay.
A rep for the actress confirmed the news to Variety on Wednesday, September 9, that she won’t be back for season 11 of the Bravo hit reality series. The announcement came hours before part two of the reunion is set to air on Bravo.
Bravo released a statement regarding Richards' exit via their official Instagram page. "She’s bold, beautiful, and saying goodbye to Bravo, Bravo, Bravo. Thank you @deniserichards for two amazing seasons of #RHOBH ❤️💎," the network captioned the post.
Richards has been in the hot seat during season 10 of RHOBH amid Brandi Glanville’s claims that the two women had an affair. While Richards has maintained that she didn’t sleep with Glanville or cheat on husband Aaron Phypers, Glanville insists that she had sex with Richards during a visit to her movie set in April 2019.
Denise first joined RHOBH in Season 9. Over the past two seasons, viewers got to see Denise at home with her family, which includes daughters Sami (16), Lola (15), and Eloise (9), as well as husband Aaron Phypers, whom she married on her debut season of RHOBH.
Aside from RHOBH, she landed many acting roles, including the daytime soap drama on The Bold and the Beautiful. Most recently, Denise was in Spain filming the epic medieval series Glow and Darkness, which resumed production in August after being shut down due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Will you miss Denise on RHOBH? Sound off in the comment section below!
Photo Credit: Bravo/NBCUniversal
