“He threw me under the bus the second I wasn’t useful anymore” – Lisa Rinna accuses Andy Cohen of betrayal after RHOBH exit, claiming he cut her off when backlash hit and ‘picked his favorites’ as Bravo loyalty crumbled

   

“He used me to stir the pot for years — and when the heat came, he let me burn alone.”

Lisa Rinna’s departure from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills after Season 12 may have been pitched as “mutual,” but according to sources close to the Bravo alum, the truth is far more personal — and far more bitter. In the months following her explosive final season, Rinna has allegedly confided in close friends that Andy Cohen, the face of Bravo and host of the franchise’s reunion specials, “threw her under the bus” the moment the backlash became too loud to ignore.

“He used to call her regularly, send her texts, joke about scenes — he treated her like an insider,” one confidante told DailyMail+. “But after that reunion aired and the audience turned, he completely cut her off. No calls. No messages. Nothing.”

Rinna, known for her no-holds-barred delivery and willingness to say what others wouldn’t, was a polarizing figure on RHOBH. But behind the scenes, she was also considered a reliable drama-driver — the kind of Housewife production could count on to stir the pot, ask the uncomfortable questions, and keep the tension boiling. According to one former Bravo editor, “Lisa gave us gold. We just had to decide how shiny to make it.”

That all changed after Season 12, when fans accused her of manipulating grief for storyline purposes and turning against longtime friends. The backlash was swift and brutal — but what stung Rinna most, according to insiders, wasn’t the public opinion. It was the silence from Andy Cohen.

“She felt abandoned,” said a source close to the Rinna-Hamlin household. “She always believed she and Andy had a rapport. But the moment she was no longer good for Bravo’s image, he distanced himself like she was toxic.”

According to another insider, Rinna reportedly told a fellow Bravo alum that Cohen “picks his favorites,” and when the tide turns, “he lets the rest drown.” The same source claims Rinna said, “He could have defended me. He knew what I was dealing with. But he stayed silent — and that silence was louder than any reunion clip.”

 

Adding to the bitterness is Rinna’s belief that she was intentionally given a “villain edit” in her final season. While she had weathered years of internet criticism before, she reportedly told friends this one felt different — “engineered,” as she allegedly put it, to close her arc with a crash.

Compounding the tension, Rinna has kept her distance from Bravo’s official channels since her exit. She declined multiple invitations to appear on Watch What Happens Live, even before signing on to The Traitors with Peacock. Sources say Andy “wasn’t thrilled” with her new deal and saw it as a direct move to stay visible outside of his orbit.

“He likes to be the sun,” one former Housewife commented. “And when you shine too bright without him, things get cold real fast.”

While Rinna has yet to speak publicly about the alleged falling-out, fans noticed a subtle dig in a recent podcast episode of Don’t Talk About the Husband, where she referred to RHOBH production as “a machine that chews you up and forgets who you are the moment you step off camera.”

As Bravo gears up for another season of RHOBH without her, the cracks in the off-camera relationships that built the franchise are starting to show. And for Lisa Rinna, the most painful betrayal didn’t come from a castmate’s confessional — it came from the man who once called her “Housewife royalty.”

Now, it seems the crown has been quietly removed. And Lisa Rinna? She’s not going down quietly.