Lisa Rinna Reveals Shocking Reason She Left ‘Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Lisa Rinna revealed the shocking true reason for her decision to leave the series after eight seasons. The atmosphere around the show got so “volatile” that the Days of Our Lives actress had enough. She even received death threats from fans, whom she believed were overreacting to a “stupid” reality show.

“I think the world itself has gotten so volatile that the response doesn’t match what we’re doing,” Rinna, 59, told the Evening Standard‘s ES Magazine. “I didn’t want to live like that. I don’t think that’s healthy.” The response from fans evolved over the time she was on the show to the point that it became disturbing for her.

“I mean, we were getting death threats,” Rinna explained. “Some of the most horrible things I’ve ever seen in print in my life, and it’s a reality show! It’s a stupid show! I thought, ‘It’s time to go.’ I’m not sure how much longer that can exist in the zeitgeist, to be honest with you.”

Rinna admitted it was difficult to leave, but she felt it was time to move on. “Who wants to leave a job?” she said. “But I think we all knew it was time. Eight years of that kind of show… What more could I have done, besides generate more memes?”

Her mother, Lois, also died around the time Rinna left the show. She was 93. Rinna told ES Magazine that Lois came to her in a dream and told her it was time to leave RHOBH.

“She came to me,” Rinna recalled. “It’s so wild, because half the world will believe this, half the world will say, ‘That’s so weird.’ I was sleeping and I heard her say to me: ‘It’s time for you to go.’ I told a psychic and she said, ‘Oh yeah, she’s come to me and told me that. She wants you to be happy and follow your dream, but she says it’s time for you to go.’ I’ve never told anybody that, except for the psychic. I’m guided by my mom, for sure.”

Rinna joined the RHOBH family as a guest in Season 4. She returned as a main cast member in Season 5 and remained on the show until Season 12. Rinna announced plans to leave the series in January, but Bravo chief Andy Cohen has held out hope for Rinna to return in the future.

“I really do hope that this is a pause. I hope she will come back. I really do,” Cohen told PEOPLE in January. “I’ve talked to Tamra [Judge] about this a lot. Tamra, ultimately said to me before she came back to this, she said, ‘You know what? My time away from the show kind of helped me as a person.’ And she said, ‘I think it was actually really positive to leave and get some air and step back.’ So I just hope that Lisa will humor us and comes back.”