Denise Richards is missing from this season of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills after being at the center of the drama for the previous season. Season 10 Denise dealt with Brandi Glanville claiming that the two had had an affair. Denise denied this happened, and says she didn’t cheat on her husband. She seemed to struggle with navigate the chatter and accusations coming from the other women, but looking back she says filming the show was a lot of fun and she wouldn’t mind coming back.
Buzz about Denise returning to the cast started when Garcelle Beauvais, who is a longtime friend of Denise, recently appeared on Watch What Happens Live. She said about Denise: “I think she wants to come back. Somebody’s gotta go, though.” That somebody, she implied, would be Lisa Rinna.
Denise has since spoken out about returning in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. “I really did enjoy working on the show. I shouldn’t even say working on it, I liked being a part of the show,” Denise told Entertainment Tonight. “I had fun with most of the women, not all.”
Denise also joked about how often her name is mentioned in Season 11. “I am going to ask them, ‘Do I get paid for every time my name comes up?'” she asked, while adding that she’s only been watching the last couple of episodes.
Garcelle has brought up Denise this season to compare how she was treated in Season 10, to how Erika and some of the other cast-members are being treated now.
In episode 18, Garcelle compared the way Dorit was speaking to Sutton at a group dinner, to how Lisa Rinna had come after Denise last season.
“Pushing someone is helping them?” Garcelle asks. “This feels like exactly what happened with Denise. Sutton, do you feel helped? Erika do you feel helped?”
Many of the cast-members tried extra hard to grill and hold Denise accountable for her alleged affair with Brandi Glanville, while they’re often walking on eggshells around Erika, who is dealing with a much more serious issue than whether she’s hooked up with Brandi Glanville or not.
Sutton has become a target because she has confronted Erika about the questions she has about Erika’s story. Kylie and Dorit are usually extremely supportive towards Erika but reveal their suspicions when she’s not around.
Lisa Rinna, who came fiercely at her friend Denise Richards last season in public while she was apologizing to her in private, is supportive of Erika and her narratives in all situations this season.
Maybe part of the reason why Erika is not always confronted or questioned over her scandal this season even though many of the women are doubting her behind her back, is because this is a huge legal problem that involves a lot of victims instead of a (possibly made-up) relationship scandal.
UPDATE: On the finale of Season 11, the door for Denise to come back was open when Garcelle asked Lisa Rinna to consider making up with Denise. It seemed like producers for sewing the seeds for a potential new storyline with Denise.
