The “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” trip to Italy is anything but a Roman holiday for Denise Richards.
Following her threat to quit the show if Bravo aired footage of the women discussing Brandi Glanville’s claims the two of them had sex, Richards did continue to film — confronting both Lisa Rinna and Erika Jayne, before dropping a bomb of her own.
The hour kicked off with Denise, Garcelle Beauvais and Dorit Kemsley in one of their hotel rooms, after the dinner blew up with Brandi’s claims.
“What the f–k, are you joking? I am floored,” Richards exclaimed as they spoke about what had just happened. “This is slander. This is f–king slander.”
As Denise continued to deny, deny, deny, Garcelle asked if any text messages were going to leak out in the future. “No,” said Richards, “Am I going to say, ‘Hey, it was a great f–k last night, thank you.'”
Of course, Glanville has released alleged texts — but all they did was seem to prove Denise suggested they share a room when Brandi flew to Northern California to record a podcast. Sadly, there were no, “it was a great f–k” messages.
The next morning, Denise then met up with Lisa and asked why she didn’t give her any warning what was coming down the pipe.
“I was so blindsided last night. How did you not let me know through the whole day?” said Denise. “Pull me aside and say, ‘Just a heads up.’ If it were the other way around, wouldn’t you want me to do that for you? Send me a text, something. I’ve always had your back.”
Lisa said she didn’t want to play telephone, as she wasn’t the one who heard Brandi’s claims directly — Teddi Mellencamp-Arroyave and Kyle Richards had. Denise then claimed she had only seen Brandi a couple times in her “entire life” and felt Glanville made the allegations “for shock value.”
She also denied talking smack about any of the other women — and said Brandi said the other women had actually been dissing her behind her back. That confused Rinna, as Richards had previously denied speaking with Brandi about the other women at all. This will come up again later.
With the group split down the middle, Denise, Garcelle, Lisa and Erika all went wine tasting together, as the other ladies dropped serious cash shopping.
At the wine tasting, Denise took a moment to ask Erika about her issues with Aaron, who had rubbed the women the wrong way when he tried to defend his wife at a party.
Erika explained she didn’t like how he spoke to them, adding that it’s always “hard when husbands get involved” in their feuds. “Men communicate differently than women,” she added, saying she could respect him sticking up for his other half, but “there is a time and a place and a tone for everything.”
Denise apologized on his behalf, saying they could talk it out with him when they got back from Italy. Erika appreciated that and said she didn’t judge Denise based on anything her husband may have done. Garcelle then, thankfully, broke up the tension by admitting she was wasted.
Finally, the group reunited as a whole for dinner — the first time Denise had seen some of the other women since their explosive meal the night before. After Erika said she and Denise cleared the air regarding Aaron, Richards said he’d apologize when they got back.
In a confessional, however, she hilariously added: “After what these women did to me in Rome, I don’t think they’re going to get their apology. He’ll say, ‘F–k ’em.'”
As Kyle then brought up the drama surrounding Brandi’s allegations, Denise said she’s, at times, felt “unwelcome” in the group. “How can you not when you’re the one in the hot seat?” she then asked, referring to the previous evening, before breaking down her side of the entire situation.
Explaining she and Brandi met via a branding agent and mutual friend, Denise said Brandi flew up to Northern California to record a podcast.
“After that, when I had spoken to her, she knew every single thing that was going on in the group,” she added, saying the two had spoken “recently,” before Kyle’s party. Footage then showed Denise adamantly saying she hadn’t spoken with Brandi about the women at all before the bash the previous evening. In a confessional, Teddi was confused. Which was the real story?
“She knew what happened in Santa Barbara, she knew the little tiffs. Someone else was sharing things with her,” Denise continued. “She knew stuff that I did not know. She shared a lot of personal stuff about a lot of people that are involved with this group. I will not repeat it.”
Though Erika egged her on, Denise said “there’s a line” and she wouldn’t repeat any of the allegations … before dropping a big one.
“By the way, Brandi has said she’s had sex with every single woman she’s had contact with, including some of the people from this group,” she claimed. “I’m not joking.”
“So you’re saying she said she had sex with someone at this table?” asked Kyle. “Yes,” replied Denise, as Kyle guessed that comment could only refer to herself or Rinna.
“I’ve never had sex with a woman,” Rinna replied, before adding, “I think it’s a little bit interesting that you’re saying that right now.” Kyle didn’t buy it either, saying she was “really struggling” with the thought Brandi would say that about them.
Denise’s point seemed to be that Brandi has (allegedly) made similar claims about literally everyone, so why should anyone believe her now.
“I don’t think Brandi Glanville has ever said she’s had sex with me,” Rinna adamantly hit back. “I can be honest about it. I don’t think she’s ever said that, so don’t say that, don’t put that out there.”
The episode ended with a “To be continued,” as footage showed Richards saying the vacation was “the worst trip I’ve ever been on in my entire life” and exclaiming, “I don’t deserve this, I’m done,” before storming out.
