Denise Richards confirms she's coming back to Real Housewives now that the big bad Lisa Rinna is gone

Three years after being driven off into the outer darkness of Not Being On The Real Housewives Anymore, Denise Richards has revealed that she’ll be making a return to the Bravo reality franchise. This is, not surprisingly, probably due to the recent departure of series star Lisa Rinna from the show, where, among her various achievements, she managed to basically bully Richards off of the series a few seasons back.

Talking to Variety, Richards revealed that she made her way back to the show unintentionally, and by the most unlikely of all possible routes: Being actual, human friends with one of the other Real Housewives. Discussing a recent screening hosted by Garcelle Beauvais, Richards said, “I was at her screening as a friend — like a real friend — I didn’t tell anyone I was gonna be there. Production didn’t know. I just showed up, like, for real life, as a real friend in real life.” (In real life, if someone says they’re your “real” friend that many times, they are a million percent planning on stabbing you, but we get why Richards felt like she had to make the distinction.)

That led to producers asking her to participate in a few events again, which Richards apparently enjoyed. She didn’t name any names (which are totally Lisa Rinna), but she did admit that doing the show was easier without certain personalities in the mix. “When I left after my second season, I just felt as though some of the women were very toxic and they played so dirty,” said Richards, who was attending a premiere for her new TV project Paper Empire as she dropped the reality TV news. “I understand there has to be drama, but I also think it’s fun to see women having fun, especially this age group.”