EXCLUSIVE: Shiva Safai Drops Out of ‘RHOBH’ Cast In Wake of Yolanda Foster’s Lyme Disease Scandal
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is playing out just as Bravo intended….or is it? Viewers have already met Erika Girardi, and the other rookie, Kathryn Edwards, is expected to appear soon. An insider has come forward, claiming that there was once another newbie in the mix, who viewers will likely never see.
As reported months ago Shiva Safai was seen socializing with Lisa Vanderpump during the filming season, and rumors swirled that she was joining the cast. The fiancee of Yolanda Foster’s ex-husband, Mohamed Hadid, was allegedly interested in a part-time spot, and seemed to be a natural fit with the ladies. So what happened? Our insider explains,
“Yolanda Foster wanted Shiva on the show, so she could have an ally on the cast. Shiva filmed as an official Housewife, but backed out when the ladies began questioning Yolanda’s illness. Mohamed wanted her to bow out, and she did.”
Our source tells of a filmed dinner scene, which had to be edited around Shiva’s withdrawal.
“There is a dinner scene that will look choppy, due to having to edit Shiva out. Yolanda came to the dinner because of Shiva’s support, so with the editing, Yolanda will probably look more confident than she was.”
The insider also dished about Taylor Armstrong’s role this season.
“Taylor was brought back to basically rile the ladies up, but she wasn’t rewarded with even a friends of housewives status. Once Taylor did production’s dirty work, they brought in two new housewives and told the ladies that they were all replaceable.”
Taylor was the one who dropped the bomb at Ken’s birthday lunch, calling out Yolanda for her cryptically inconsistent portrayal of her illness, on her Instagram account. Armstrong’s comments kicked off the main storyline of the season. It appears that Yolanda’s illness is not only consuming her own reality, but is also directing Bravo’s as well.
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Becca is a Senior Editor for All About The Tea. She’s a coastal girl who loves the outdoors, and writing about the sneaky and silly side of reality TV. Her bio is short, but her snark is endless. She loves writing for the sharpest posters in the world.