Entertainment TV Reality TV Lisa Rinna Is 'Grateful' as She Announces Exit from 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' After 8 Seasons PEOPLE can exclusively confirm actress and businesswoman Lisa Rinna is departing the Bravo hit after joining the series during season 5 in 2014 By Dory Jackson Dory Jackson Dory Jackson is a Staff Editor for PEOPLE's TV News team. Upon joining the brand in March 2021, she has had the opportunity to interview a long list of celebrities, from Kate Hudson to Pierce Brosnan to Billy Porter. She has also helped recap popular TV shows like 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,' 'Sister Wives' and 'Vanderpump Rules.' The New York-based Maryland native graduated from Randolph-Macon College in May 2016 with a focus on Communication Studies and Journalism. She came to PEOPLE in March 2021 after working at a number of major news companies, including Newsweek and Us Weekly. People Editorial Guidelines and Joelle Goldstein Joelle Goldstein Joelle Goldstein is a Senior News Editor on the TV team for PEOPLE Digital. She has been with the brand since 2017, working as an intern, digital news writer and Human Interest writer-reporter before joining the TV team to help oversee and edit digital coverage. Her work has previously appeared in The Hollywood Reporter. People Editorial Guidelines Published on January 5, 2023 06:19PM EST Lisa Rinna is bidding farewell to The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. After eight seasons of delivering sassy one-liners, drama-filled moments, social media messiness and self-deprecating lip humor, Rinna is departing the beloved franchise, PEOPLE can exclusively confirm. "This is the longest job I have held in my 35 year career and I am grateful to everyone at Bravo and all those involved in the series," Rinna, 59, says in a statement. "It has been a fun eight-year run and I am excited for what is to come!" The decision was made as Rinna's contract expired at the end of last season. After weighing her options and business obligations, she and Bravo mutually decided that she would not return to RHOBH. Rinna joined the franchise in its fifth season, which premiered in 2014. In her debut season, the actress was involved in one of the show's most memorable fights when she hurled a wine glass at then-costar Kim Richards, who'd alluded Rinna didn't want something to get out about her husband Harry Hamlin. Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Denise Richards Says She's Open to Returning to RHOBH — Even If Lisa Rinna Stays The Days of Our Lives alum has also become known for her "Own it, baby" catchphrase, which is a mentality to which she subscribed throughout her run. For more on Lisa Rinna, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day. But Rinna's exit likely doesn't come as a surprise to RHOBH fans. Even though she's compared herself to a "cockroach" you "can't get rid of," she dropped major hints about the possibility throughout season 8. Posting a pre-Housewives throwback photo on her Instagram Story, Rinna wrote: "I was Lisa F---ing Rinna before HW and I'll be Lisa F---ing Rinna After." She then followed this with lyrics from "Roxie" beside an image of Renée Zellweger in 2002's Chicago, which is a role Rinna also portrayed on Broadway in 2007. Lisa Rinna. Cindy Ord/Bravo/Getty "I'm a star! And the audience loves me! And I love them. And they love me for loving them. And I love them for loving me. And we love each other. And that's because none of us got enough love in our childhoods. And that's showbiz, kid," the image read. Following the November 2021 death of her mother Lois, Rinna said her "grief" was the cause of her many online rants, including against some Real Housewives of Dubai cast members. "I have had a really rough time of it I think you've seen how hard this has hit me," she wrote in July in a since-deleted Instagram post. I'm sorry if I've raged on you, about you — it really has nothing to do with any of you." The cast of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 12. Tommy Garcia/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty She then criticized RHOBH for failing to properly memorialize Lois, instead focusing on trivial drama from the previous season that resurfaced. "I got one episode of grace. That's it," Rinna wrote. "Lois deserved and deserves much more. Shame on everyone." On the latest season of RHOBH, the Rinna Beauty founder raised her voice repeatedly at Sutton Stracke after her costar claimed to have never received a thank you for purchasing Rinna and husband Harry Hamlin's tickets for Elton John's annual charity benefit. Later, fans — and current RHOBH stars — took issue with how Rinna continued to leverage over Kathy Hilton's alleged meltdown during the cast's Aspen trip. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. For her part, Rinna appeared to be unbothered by the fan backlash — even when she received loud boos from the crowd at BravoCon 2022. "I got booed! It was fabulous," Rinna told PEOPLE exclusively. "I'm like a wrestler. The wrestlers get booed. The most famous wrestlers in the world get booed. The Rock [Dwayne Johnson] got booed for God's sake. I loved it. I've been in this business for 32 years." Rinna also said at the time she was happy to "have the number one show on cable on Bravo of the Housewives," and noted that she was not fazed by RHOBH fans who called her hypocritical for her onscreen behavior. "It's a TV show, for God's sake," she shared. "Call me whatever you want, believe whatever you want, I tell the truth. I always have. Go back to that."