Camille Grammer went against her better judgement, her husband’s counsel and Lisa Vanderpump’s advice when she made the decision to return for Season 10 of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”
If you recall, Season 9 was a difficult one for Camille, who’s appeared on the Bravo series in a friend role for several years. On top of losing her Malibu home in the devastating California wildfires, she also lost her longtime assistant. To make matters worse, she found herself at odds with the entire cast after her only real friend in the group, Lisa, quit the series prior to filming the reunion, during which Camille tearfully stormed off set and threatened to quit.
“I’m back this season. I’m back briefly. Just little here and there,” Grammer said when TooFab caught up with her at Thursday’s Vanderpump Dogs Foundation gala. “And, uh, it’s interesting. I’ll leave it at that.”
But Season 9 wasn’t all bad for Camille. After all, she did get married to the love of her life, David C. Meyer. She told us the two are currently living on the beach and that they’ll be moving into their recently purchased Brentwood home sometime soon. Unfortunately, though, Camille said we won’t be seeing David on Season 10.
When we asked how he felt about her return to “RHOBH,” she explained he “wasn’t sure.”
“He didn’t like the way the women treated me,” she continued. “He wasn’t about it. He was horrified at the reunion. He felt terrible for me because he knew what I was going through and all the pain from losing my assistant and the house. It was devastating to us. He thought it was really unfair and very lopsided. I don’t think all the ladies should gang up on one person. I don’t think that’s right in any circumstance or situation. It’s just awful and that’s how I felt, and I think that’s what Lisa was feeling, too. And that’s why Lisa left.”
Upon making her decision to come back, Grammer said Vanderpump called her and lightly scolded her for putting herself back into what she described as harm’s way.
“Lisa called me and said, ‘What are you doing?!'” Camille recalled. “She said to me, ‘You said you weren’t going back! What are you doing? Are you crazy?!’ basically. And she was like, ‘You don’t need to put yourself through this!'”
When asked why she decided to film another season, she explained she “had some meetings” and “discussed things with the executives” but didn’t go into detail. Overall, though, she told us she simply didn’t want to give up the exposure the show provides, which she says is all about bringing awareness to her organization, the Foundation for Women’s Cancer.
“I like to stay relevant because I work with a wonderful foundation, and I co-chair their event,” Camille explained. “I didn’t do it this year because I wasn’t able to because I was doing stuff with my mom. My mom’s here in town, and she’s been very sick, but I was happy that she’s been here. So I was focused on my mom, but next year, hopefully, I’ll be chairing the event again.”
“Me staying relevant helps the foundation get the word out there for raising awareness for female below-the-belt cancers,” she added. “So I want to keep that going because I think awareness is very important.”
While Grammer couldn’t really speak to the rumors that Bravo producers are dissatisfied with the amount of drama surrounding Season 10, she does feel there’s plenty aimed at her.
“I don’t know. I have no idea. What I’ve seen, there’s drama targeted at me,” she said, careful not to reveal too much. “How do I say it the right way? I feel that I show up somewhere, and I felt targeted. But there are things that need to be discussed. So maybe that was the right time to do so? We’ll see. There you go. That’s the carrot! I just dangled that little carrot.”
During BravoCon, at Andy Cohen’s mere mention of Camille’s name, castmates Kyle Richards, Lisa Rinna, Erika Jayne, Dorit Kemsley and Teddi Mellencamp sat in awkward silence. The “Watch What Happens Live” crowd went wild as the ladies’ faces said it all. Eventually, Kyle stepped up to the plate, saying, “Well, it was good to see Camille, but the tweets are killing us! The tweets are killing all of us.” Erika jokingly praised Kyle for being the group’s “ambassador.”
“We had a difficult reunion. A lot of feelings were hurt,” Grammer said in response to her castmates’ comments and lack thereof. “I was going through a difficult time in my life, and I felt there was a lack of empathy for what I was going through. I felt kind of teamed up on, in a way, so it was me just answering them back, me trying to express what I was feeling, and also defending myself. I was pushing back when I felt like it was an attack.”
“After I lost my house and my longtime assistant, I was very hurt,” she added. “I think that things I’ve said have hurt people, and also things they have said about me and to me hurt my feelings. So we’ll see. We’ll see what happens. I think that’s what you’re going to see in this upcoming season.”
Toward the end of our chat, we noted that her castmates had just landed in Rome, Italy.
“Okay well that’s fantastic!” Camille replied in jest. “And I’m here supporting Lisa, and I’m happy to be here. I am not disappointed that I missed this trip. Let them have a blast. I’m glad to take a step away from the drama for a little while.”
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