Former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin discussed Lisa’s “horrible” postpartum depression.
During the Let’s Not Talk About the Husband podcast, Harry explained, “I didn’t know what Lisa was going through.”
Rinna’s postpartum depression:
The Melrose Place alum said she felt “absolutely hopeless” as she struggled with PPD.
Harry and Lisa’s oldest daughter, Delilah Hamlin, was born in mid-1998. Lisa battled PPD for 15 months after her birth and described it as “a huge dark cloud” that followed her. Lisa welcomed their youngest daughter, Amelia Hamlin, in June 2001. This is when Harry became concerned for Lisa.
Content warning:
Harry divulged, “[Lisa] said, ‘I’m gonna kill you.’ And I said, ‘You better call [your OB-GYN] right now.’ You said, ‘You better watch out. I feel like killing you.’ You said, ‘Keep the knives in the drawer.’”
Lisa didn’t recall the incident, but Harry’s description aligned with her psyche. “I was having horrible hallucinations of killing people. I needed to take the knives out of the house. And I also had horrible visions of driving the car into a brick wall.”
Despite Rinna’s extreme PPD, she recalled, “I did not have horrible visions about hurting the baby in any way, shape, or form. It wasn’t about that. It was about hopelessness, darkest depression, and these horrible visions, hallucinations.”
The former Days Of Our Lives actress kept thinking about “the knives” and “driving the car into a brick wall,” confessing, “Looking back, I was completely psychotic.”
Mental health matters:
Eventually, Rinna was prescribed antidepressants, which “worked instantly” against her PPD and “changed the game.”
She urged new moms who are suffering, especially those suffering in silence, to ask for help.
If you or someone you know needs postpartum support, call the Postpartum Support International Helpline at 1-800-944-4773.
