Inside Lisa Rinna's Relationship With Harry Hamlin
Lisa Rinna is without a doubt a fan-favorite of the "Real Housewives" franchise, and fans are looking forward to watching her return to the small screen with fellow "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" cast members Kyle Richards, Garcelle Beauvais, Crystal Kung Minkoff, Sutton Stracke, Dorit Kemsley, and Erika Jayne (via Bravo) in the Season 11 opener, which airs on Bravo on Thursday, May 19.
The Housewives' families will also be returning to the small screen this season, including Rinna's husband, Harry Hamlin, and their two kids, 22-year-old Delilah Belle Hamlin and 19-year-old Amelia Gray Hamlin. Amelia Gray is currently dating "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" star Scott Disick — who is nearly twice her age and has a history of dating much younger women after splitting with ex Kourtney Kardashian — and their controversial relationship will be part of Rinna's storyline this season (via ET).
Through all the drama and ups and downs over the years, though, Rinna's had her husband to lean on through it all. And even though they've had their own fair share of drama broadcast on TV for the world to see, their nearly 25-year relationship has stood the test of time.
The story of how Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin met is straight out of a movie
Harry Hamlin and the former "Days of Our Lives" star met at a restaurant while Rinna was working at an eyeglass store. "We met in a restaurant. She was working at an eyeglass store doing the night shift selling sunglasses. And I happened to know the owner of the store, I was having dinner with him and she came in to deliver the keys when she closed the store at 10. That's how I met her," Hamlin recalled during an appearance on "The Jess Cagle Show" (via People), adding that the pair met before her big acting break.
"It was sparks right away," Hamlin continued, telling the story of his and Lisa Rinna's first conversation. "...She said, 'Oh my God, I went to the circus last night and it was so sexy!' I'm thinking to myself, 'Wait a minute, here's this girl. She's sitting there and the elephants, right, and the clowns and all that.'"
Hamlin admitted that the only circus he'd ever been to was the Ringling Brothers, so he was rightfully confused about his future wife's enthusiasm about the circus. "But she was talking about Cirque du Soleil, which is very sexy, but I didn't know that. I had not seen Cirque du Soleil at that point, so I thought, 'If this girl can be turned on by elephant dung and whatever, I'm good with her,'" he revealed. "I was enchanted right away."
Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin have been married since 1997
The couple wed on March 29, 1997 (via People) and have stuck by each other ever since! However, like most marriages and relationships, Harry Hamlin and Lisa Rinna's union isn't perfect, as Rinna revealed in a candid interview with "RHONY" star Bethenny Frankel. "Harry had some rough years of not working as an actor, which is his true love. And as you all know, if your man's not doing what he loves to do, that's hard," she explained.
Last year, rumors of an affair hit the couple after an anonymous social media user alleged that her friend was sleeping with Hamlin "for an entire summer in 2018" (via Screen Rant). Rinna clapped back at those rumors, as well as rumors that the couple no longer live together (via TV Shows Ace) on Instagram, posting Hamlin's Sexiest Man Alive cover from 1987 and captioning the throwback pic, "Appreciation Post To my very busy Husband who apparently doesn't live with us, is having a lot of affairs, and is gay. Go Harry F****** Hamlin."
One year prior, Hamlin opened up the secret to his and Rinna's long-lasting marriage. "Lisa and I are of the same mind. When you get married, you get married," the "Mad Men" alum told Us Weekly. "So we have a very functional relationship and we respect each other and listen to each other and admire each other and we let each other be. We're not helicopter husband and wife."