Two decades after taking the ballroom floor, Lisa Rinna is looking back at her DWTS journey, and she’s ready to pass the mirrorball torch.
The former RHOBH star, who finished fourth on the celebrity competition series in 2006, revealed that she wants her daughters, Delilah Belle and Amelia Gray Hamlin, to follow in her footsteps. Reflecting on how the grueling competition reshaped her career and pushed her out of her comfort zone, Rinna opened up about why she’s pitching the ballroom experience to her girls.
Lisa Rinna Called DWTS ‘Life Changing’
Lisa Rinna competed alongside pro Louis Van Amstel in 2006, during Season 2. She was a fan favorite, but ultimately lost the season to 98 Degrees member Drew Lachey and his pro partner, Cheryl Burke.
In an interview with People Magazine Rinna shared her hopes that someday, daughters Delilah, 28, and Amelia, 25, would compete in the ballroom. She believes the rigorous training and high-stakes pressure would be a transformative experience for her daughters with Harry Hamlin.
“Can you imagine?” she stated. “I would love to see that.”
“It was life-changing, truly,” Rinna continued. “It’s the greatest thing I’ve ever done.”
“It really is. I’ll never forget it, and I wish I could do it again,” she added.
Rinna believes the experience “opens you up” in ways other entertainment roles do not. She also called it “life-changing.”
“Like, I was — I needed something to, like, shake me out of whatever I was in. And, you know, I think what it does is it just opens you up. It opened me up in a way. It freed me. I don’t know how to say it. It just freed me, and then your confidence is up, and you just have fun,” the former RHOBH star concluded.
“I had a blast, and I had Louis van Amstel, who was an amazing [pro] partner. So it just was life-changing for the better.”
Lisa Rinna Has Shared Her DWTS Success Tips With Season 35 Contestant, Maura Higgins
GettyLisa Rinna and Maura Higgins forged a close friendship while competing together on Season 4 of “The Traitors,” where Rinna was quick to recognize Higgins’ fierce competitive spirit. Knowing firsthand how intense the journey can be, the soap legend stepped in to pass along her best advice on navigating the grueling rehearsals and surviving the ballroom pressure cooker.
Rinna urged Higgins to leave everything on the dance floor and fully commit to the exhausting physical grind, emphasizing that mindset is just as critical as footwork. She also reminded her to savor every single moment of the experience, reassuring her that the intense training pays off the second the live cameras start rolling.
“I’m giving her tips, little tips. And, you know, you just gotta go for it. You just go. You just leave it on the floor,” Rinna told People.
Higgins is grateful for Rinna’s continued support. She joked, “I’ve got my American mom giving me all the advice in the world, so that does really help.”
She concluded, “I’m gonna embrace it and just try and enjoy every moment. Like, I know it’s gonna be tough, but I really wanna have fun.”D
DWTS premieres Tuesday, Sept. 15, and Wednesday, Sept. 16, on ABC and Disney+. New episodes stream the next day on Hulu.
