Yolanda Hadid. Image Source: SheKnows
Yolanda Hadid talks about The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
Yolanda Hadid recently spoke with Entertainment Tonight's Rachel Smith after attending an event hosted by Project Healthy Minds at Hudson Yards in New York City in honor of World Mental Health Day, where she recounted her time on the reality show The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, which she described as "not the best experience."
Yolanda starred from season three to season six and discussed how her appearance on the show affected her well-being and how her Lyme disease battle also contributed to her less-than-ideal experience. She revealed that during her first season, she was diagnosed with neurological Lyme disease and was struggling every day.
The former model explained that she stayed because she thought it would get better in the next season, but she had no idea that Lyme disease was a life sentence, and she is still dealing with it ten to twelve years later. She went on to say that she always expected to do better the following season. She was going to fully comprehend, so she added that she would never work on the show with a full set of brains.
Yolanda Hadid also shared how some of the arguments on the show centered on whether she had Lyme disease or not, to which she now says that those remarks on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills were very emotionally damaging, not just to her, but to her children and family who love her.
The reality TV star mentioned that the family knew that she was fighting for her life, so from that perspective, it was not a good experience for her to be on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and it was the taste she left the show with. On asking if she would ever like to go back on the show, she said she would never go back on the reality show.
Yolanda Hadid said that it is an experience one takes on, but she is at a point where she would not take on that experience, adding that she is just too sensitive as she could not deal with that back and forth between women. Yolanda said that it’s not her communication style or something good for her life, adding that she believes that she wants to be a woman who is for women, about women, with women. The TV personality wants everyone to hold hands and support each other and get each other through the difficult times of life and added that she doesn’t understand why somebody would wake up and want to hurt somebody with words or behavior.
At the time when Yolanda Hadid decided to leave the show in 2013, she took to her social media announced that she would have preferred a more graceful exit than in "Season 6," but added that sometimes people do not have control over the endings of their lives' chapters. Yolanda stated that she is letting go of what is no longer important in her life. She went on to say that she believes that every exit is a new entry and, with that in mind, she bids farewell to her Bravo TV family as she focuses on her recovery, children, and restoring their home's privacy. The reality TV star also mentioned a special thank you to all the fans for their love and unwavering support these past 4 years. She added that she is grateful for the housewife experience and all it has taught her. She said she is excited about this choice and is looking forward to the next chapter of her life.
During the conversation, Yolanda Hadid also spoke about her experiences with fame and attention and how her daughters Gigi and Bella deal with it. Yolanda said her modeling career began nearly 40 years ago and was very different from what it is today, she said, adding that at the time, even though she was famous, people knew she would leave for home at 5 p.m. and nobody would talk to her or look for her.
The former model compared it to the modeling industry today, asserting that it is not the same for her daughters because there are paparazzi outside 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and the whole social media aspect of it casts a whole different light on it.
She praised them and stated that they are excellent at what they do and that she has always taught them to be the hardest working person they can be, as well as that she has always motivated them to be dedicated to their work in the sense that they should be the first to arrive and the last to leave the room. Yolanda Hadid mentioned that she has always taught her daughters to be good to everyone on set because being kind is something the people will remember.
Yolanda also addressed the recent Gigi-Kanye situation, saying that her daughter does not speak out often, but when she does, she feels very righteous. Yolanda went on to say that when she spoke out in support of Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, it was because she is someone Gigi loves and has known for over ten years, and when Kanye attacked her on social media, Gigi felt it was wrong, which is why she spoke out.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is currently in its 12th season. The main cast includes Kyle Richards, Sutton Stracke, Erika Girardi, Dorit Kemsley, Garcelle Beauvais, Lisa Rinna, Crystal Kung Minkoff, and Diana Jenkins. Meanwhile, Sheree Zampino and Richards' sister, Kathy Hilton, play "friends of."
