Lisa Vanderpump is reportedly supportive of Billie Lee’s decision to walk away from Vanderpump Rules amid filming on the show’s upcoming eighth season.
According to a report from Hollywood Life on July 18, Vanderpump understands why Lee felt the need to walk away from the series, as she recently felt the same way when she quit her role on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills after nine seasons.
“Lisa supports whatever Billie wants to do as far as being on the show or not,” the source said. “She truly understands what it’s like to be in Billie’s shoes as she just went through it herself on Housewives .”
Vanderpump quit her role on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in early June after enduring a massive falling out with nearly every one of her co-stars. As fans of the series will recall, Vanderpump was accused of leaking a negative story about Dorit Kemsley to Radar Online , in which Kemsley was criticized for supposedly abandoning the chihuahua mix she adopted from Vanderpump Dogs last year. Although Vanderpump denied leaking the damning story, her co-stars were convinced otherwise, even after she took a lie detector test, which seemingly proved her innocence.
As for the straw that broke the camel’s back for Lee, the trans rights activist was reportedly approached about taking part in a false storyline for Vanderpump Rules Season 8 — which involved her hooking up with Tom Sandoval — that she wanted nothing to do with.
Following her exit, Lee has reportedly found support in her now-ex-co-stars.
“Billie has found support in [Tom] Sandoval whom she’s grown very close with, as well as James [Kennedy]. James will miss her since she’s such an ally for him, but he gets it,” the insider said. “They all just want Billie to be happy and agree it is probably what’s best for her.”
Another source told Hollywood Life earlier this week that “the drama” from the show “was truly messing with her mental well being.”
Lee has been featured on Vanderpump Rules for the past couple of years after landing a hostessing gig at SUR Restaurant. However, while she has made a number of friends on the show, she has also been involved with numerous disagreements with her co-stars, including Katie Maloney, about them supposedly leaving her out of group activities with the cast.
Vanderpump Rules Season 8 is expected to premiere on Bravo TV sometime later this year.