Honestly, if you go back and watch season six Real Housewives of Beverly Hills today, it hits different. It’s heavy. It’s uncomfortable. It’s arguably the moment the franchise shifted from a show about wealthy women having silly arguments over dinner parties to something much darker, much more clinical, and way more divisive.
Lyme disease. That’s the shadow that looms over everything in 2015 and 2016. Specifically, Yolanda Hadid’s struggle with it.
You’ve got a cast that was, on paper, a total powerhouse. Lisa Vanderpump was at the height of her influence. Kyle Richards was finding her footing as the "relatable" center. We had the introduction of Erika Girardi—back when she was just the wife of a high-powered attorney with a secret pop-star life—and Kathryn Edwards, who brought a weirdly specific 90s nostalgia because of the O.J. Simpson trial connections. But none of that mattered because everyone was obsessed with whether or not Yolanda was actually sick.
The Munchausen of it All
It started with a word. Munchausen.
When Lisa Rinna brought up the "Munchausen" chatter she’d supposedly heard from "her hairdresser" or "friends," she lit a fuse that basically blew up the entire season. It wasn’t just a rumor; it was an accusation that Yolanda was faking her illness for attention. Looking back, it’s wild how much airtime this took up.
Rinna later claimed she felt "used" by Kyle and Lisa Vanderpump to bring the topic up. This created a massive rift. You had LVP, who usually kept her hands clean, suddenly being accused of manipulative puppet-mastery behind the scenes. It was the beginning of the end for the "LVP and Kyle" dream team, even if they didn't know it yet.
The tension was thick. You could see it in the way the women looked at Yolanda’s "health closet" filled with IV bags and pills. They weren't just skeptical; they were borderline aggressive about it.
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Erika Jayne’s Polarizing Debut
While the Lyme drama was suffocating the group, Erika Girardi (now famously known as Erika Jayne) arrived like a cold glass of water to the face. She was unlike anyone else they’d cast. She was icy, guarded, and had this alter ego that cost a fortune to maintain.
Her relationship with her then-husband, Tom Girardi, was fascinating to watch in hindsight. The way she deferred to him was so stark compared to her "Pat the Puss" stage persona.
But Erika’s real contribution to season six Real Housewives of Beverly Hills was her instant loyalty to Yolanda. She didn't buy into the gossip. She became a human shield for Yolanda, which immediately put her at odds with the "OG" clique. She called out LVP’s "sniper from the side" tactics early on. It was a bold move for a rookie. Most people come in and try to make friends with the queen bee. Erika just stared her down.
That Infamous Dubai Trip
The cast trip to Dubai was supposed to be peak luxury. Instead, it was a pressure cooker. Yolanda didn't go because she was too sick, which only fueled the fire back home.
In Dubai, the cracks in Lisa Rinna’s psyche really started to show. She was oscillating between being the "truth-teller" and being someone who was deeply regretful for her role in the drama. One minute she’s enjoying a 7-star hotel, the next she’s crying over the "Munchausen" comment.
The most fascinating part was the dinner where the "who said what" game reached its peak. Rinna accused LVP of trying to drag Kyle into the Munchausen mess by telling her to "bring it up." LVP denied it. Kyle sat there looking like she wanted to disappear into the upholstery. It was a masterclass in deflection and subtle manipulation.
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Kathryn Edwards and the O.J. Shadow
We can't talk about this season without mentioning Kathryn Edwards. She was a one-season wonder, but she brought a very specific type of energy.
Faye Resnick—the "Morally Corrupt" Faye Resnick—was still floating around the periphery of the group. Kathryn had a decades-old grudge against Faye because of how Kathryn was portrayed in Faye’s book about Nicole Brown Simpson.
The confrontation at Kyle’s dinner party was awkward. Kathryn wanted an apology; Faye gave her a "I don't even remember you" vibe. It was a weird subplot that didn't quite fit the rest of the season, but it added to the overall sense of unease. It felt like ghosts of 90s Los Angeles were haunting the present.
Why the Reunion Felt Unfinished
The reunion for season six was grueling. Andy Cohen didn't hold back, but the resolution never came. Yolanda eventually left the show after this, which felt like a somber end to a very heavy era.
There was no "winning" this season.
Yolanda felt betrayed by women she thought were friends. Rinna looked like a loose cannon. LVP’s reputation as a manipulator was solidified in the eyes of many viewers. It was a season where the "glamour" of Beverly Hills was stripped away, leaving only a bunch of people arguing about medical records and Instagram posts.
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It’s a tough watch.
If you’re doing a rewatch, you notice the things that seemed small then but are huge now. You see the early signs of Rinna’s "own it" mantra becoming a weapon. You see Kyle’s anxiety manifesting as she tries to balance her loyalty to LVP with her friendship with the others.
Lessons from the 90210 Trenches
If you're diving into season six Real Housewives of Beverly Hills for the first time or revisiting it, keep these things in mind:
- Watch the social media context. At the time, Yolanda’s Instagram was a battlefield. The show reacts to what was happening on Twitter and IG in real-time, which was a relatively new dynamic for the franchise then.
- Pay attention to the side conversations. The "Munchausen" drama wasn't just about the word; it was about the power dynamic of who gets to control the narrative.
- Observe Erika’s walls. Knowing what we know now about her legal and personal life years later, her guarded nature in her debut season is incredibly revealing.
- Don't ignore the Kim Richards factor. Even though she wasn't a main housewife this season, her absence and her brief appearances still dictated much of Kyle’s emotional state.
This season changed the DNA of Beverly Hills. It stopped being a show about "having it all" and became a show about surviving the group. To truly understand why the current seasons are so high-stakes and aggressive, you have to look back at the Lyme drama. It broke the trust in a way that hasn't ever really been fully repaired.
Practical Next Steps for the Superfan
If you want to go deeper than just the episodes, look up the actual interviews from 2016 with the cast’s hair stylists and assistants—they were the ones feeding the information that fueled the "Munchausen" fire. Also, cross-reference the filming dates with Yolanda Hadid’s divorce announcement from David Foster; the timing of their split happening right as the season wrapped adds a whole other layer of heartbreak to her "sick" storyline.