If you’re a Real Housewives of Beverly Hills fan, you probably (hopefully) hold a candle for former cast member Brandi Glanville. The gorgeous and outspoken alum had no problems telling it like it was, whether her castmates liked it or not. With her fiery attitude and stunning looks, she made a huge impression on Bravo TV viewers everywhere. Now, just four years after leaving the show full time, she dished to Life & Style about what’s up in her world in 2019 — and that includes her growing kids, her current franchise friendships and new career aspirations. Oh, and she even revealed where she’s at with ex-husband Eddie Cibrian.
“I’m just so thankful that when I was acting a hot mess on TV, they were not even trying to watch it,” the proud mama, 46, told LS exclusively about her boys, Mason and Jake. “They could watch back now but they don’t, they’re not interested. Like, I really have to behave now, because they are 12 and 16-years-old. 7th and 11th grade. They have girlfriends. I have to be responsible!”
Doesn’t it seem like just yesterday her boys were playing with Kyle Richards‘ daughter, Portia, at her 5th birthday party? Now, her oldest is getting ready to leave home. “It’s just so nuts because when I think about him leaving me, I’m not OK with it and then I have a breakdown,” she said of son Mason, who will be headed off to college next year. “He’s like, ‘I’m gonna apply to every UC in California.’ I’m like, great. His plan is to buy an apartment building and make a lot of money by renting it. I’m like, ‘So, you wanna be a slumlord?’” she laughed, adding that he’s still deciding on a major.
Her sons have the best of both worlds, though, between herself and their dad, Eddie, and his wife, LeAnn Rimes. “They think their dad is very calm, like everything’s mellow yellow over there. So they have a really good balance, they have me screaming and yelling on occasion when they refuse to listen and then they have the mellow yellow over there,” she explained. “I think that’s why they’re so well-rounded, because they do have all of these different personalities to put up with.”
And believe it or not, coparenting seems to be a breeze for the once contentious ex-couple. “Yeah, we’re on really good terms. Coparenting’s very easy. We both put the kids first. Ultimately, that’s what we have to do. It only took us a decade to figure that out,” the former RHOBH babe revealed. “We were always putting them first but we would fight behind the scenes over dumb stuff and now we’re like, OK, no more fighting. It’s unfortunate because I will always get the question about them so it’s hard to move on from that story. But at the end of the day, it’s part of my story and how I landed where I landed.”
But it isn’t just her own family life that’s changed — everyone else’s from her old Bravo life has, too. And with that, some friendships stay the same … and others, well, they change.
“[Lisa] Vanderpump and I, clearly, we’re not friends. I stay in contact with Kyle and Camille [Grammer] — sorry, not Camille. Kyle and Kim [Richards], Kim a lot,” she revealed about the state of her old friendships. “Now that they’re getting along it’s so much easier for me to get along with both of them because when they’re fighting, Kim’s like, ‘pick a side.’ And I’m like, oh no. It’s not fun.”
“I talk to Denise [Richards] all the time. I talk to [Lisa] Rinna sporadically. Sutton [Stracke] has invited me to parties in the past. I don’t talk to Adrienne Maloof,” she continued. “I talk to Carlton [Gebbia] still, we’re still close friends. I was gonna see Yolanda [Hadid] in New York [recently] but then she had to go to Pennsylvania for something.”
At the end of the day, though, Brandi definitely isn’t about making nice solely for the cameras — never was, never will be. “I’m like, a friend, I’m not a TV friend person, it’s a real-life situation,” she dished. “As Yolanda would say, ‘Hollywood friends.’ Sometimes on-camera friends don’t translate into your real life, but not for me.”
And with the Housewives franchises in their current forms, Brandi just thinks things have gotten a little too over-the-top. “Everyone’s making a character for themselves and when I watch the older seasons I feel like it was just more authentic. Before everyone thought the recipe for Housewives was to go to a dinner and scream and break a glass,” she remarked. “That’s not what it was built on, it was built on real-life situations and conflict. Now, I feel like when new people come on, they just start acting poorly. Like, bad behavior is what they think they’re supposed to do.”
But listen, don’t say she’s gone soft, either. Fighting Brandi is still in there — the blonde beauty just uses her a little more wisely now. “I’m the same person, but last time we were fighting about real s—t. I’m not going to get into a fight over not real s—t. Like, OK, sorry, we have the same shoes on? Go f—k yourself, I’ll say that. It’s just different, it’s very, very bizarre,” she said. “I honestly feel like I’m the most conservative one at this point. I’m like, wait a minute, you guys are acting crazy. I don’t want any of this.”
The mom of two also revealed she considers RHOC star Kelly Dodd and former RHONY babe Kristen Taekman among her close friends, along with Dorinda Medley. In general, there’s a great kinship between the entire Bravo TV fam. “When you see everyone, it’s like, oh my God, because they get it. They get what you’re going through,” she gushed. “They get it. It’s like when you see someone who does what you do and you’re like, girl. Let’s chat. It’s nice to have that, like, download.”
But not every network face is a welcomed one — remember Vanderpump Rules star Scheana Marie? Well, it looks as though Brandi is definitely done with that drama in 2019. “When I was friends with Lisa I would see her all the time and I’ve run into her at different events and we’re fine. We’re good. It’s just behind me, finally,” she revealed. “It will always be part of my story, but I’m definitely like, listen. You do you, I’ll do me. It’s easy. I think we’re both really over it.”
So, what’s next for the starlet? “Still doing the reality stuff. I might go to the U.K. to do another show. I love doing it, I’ve basically done all of them at this point. Between the U.K. and here, I’ve done almost everything there is to do,” she explained, while adding, “I don’t want to be on TV forever. It’s hard to watch a show filmed. So I’m trying to figure out what the next chapter is.”
TBH, it seems like she might have a few things in the works on that front. “I’m obsessed with skincare, so I’m trying to get my esthetician’s license. I can’t go and sit in the classes all day because the kids’ schedule with basketball and tennis and school and looking at colleges this summer and it’s just intense,” she explained. “So I’m doing an online course. I think my passion is skincare because I’ve had so many different skin problems that I’m just fascinated by it. I find myself always reading about it. I just want to know everything, so I feel like, might as well do something I love, right?”
Sounds like there’s a lot more in store from this Bravo babe — and we can’t wait for every second of it.