Actress and fitness guru Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave made her debut on the Season 8 premiere of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, instantly enamoring some fans with her charismatic personality and laid-back approach.
The mother of two (and the stepmom of Isabella, her husband Edwin Arroyave’s daughter from a previous relationship) quickly established herself as a key cast member and steady source of drama on RHOBH. So, why did Teddi announce in the fall of 2020 that she was leaving RHOBH?
In September 2020, Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave announced that she was leaving ‘RHOBH.’
Teddi took to Instagram in September 2020 to confirm that she was leaving RHOBH, around the same time as Season 10 of the show drew to an end. (She did, however, go on to reveal in May 2021 that she would be making an appearance in Season 11.)
So, what exactly happened to Teddi? Did she decide to devote more time to her wellness program ALL IN by Teddi, or was something else behind the decision?
Source: Getty Images
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“You heard it here last. Yes, it’s true, I am not coming back to #RHOBH,” Teddi captioned an Instagram video shared on Sept. 22, 2020. “Thank you to @bravotv, @evolutionusa, @bravoandy, and all of the amazing women for the support (and the shade) for the past three years. Back to the shadows I go.”
“I don’t want to bore you,” Teddi said at the beginning of the video, likely in a cheeky nod to the rumors about her shock exit.
She went on to explain, “I recently found out that my contract as a Housewife is not being renewed. Of course, I could give you the standard response of ‘Oh, we both came to the decision that it would be best …’ Nah, I’m not gonna do that. That’s not who I am.”
Teddi said she was sad at the news and that it felt like a “breakup,” but that she was looking forward to focusing on her loved ones and ALL IN.
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A day before Teddi headed to Instagram to confirm the fast-multiplying rumors about her firing, an insider close to the show shared some explosive details with Daily Mail. As the source divulged, the producers had been nursing qualms about Teddi’s performance for some time. They decided to give her the boot after giving her one last shot with Season 10.
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“Teddi will be advised this week that she will not be picked up for another season,” the insider told Daily Mail. “The network has not been impressed with her performance on the show. They considered cutting her last season but gave her one last chance.”
But the unnamed source ventured much, much further.
“She is boring and stale and does not offer anything to the franchise with her robotic and staged delivery when interacting with the other cast members,” they added. “The issue is, the other cast members don’t particularly like her, and, beyond Kyle [Richards], no one is friends with her. Kyle will most likely dump her when Bravo does.”
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It’s safe to say that the prognosis was far from correct. Teddi stayed friends with some of her co-stars — well, with a few exceptions, including Garcelle Beauvais — beyond Season 10. What’s more, she recently made headlines by unleashing her alter ego, Tequila Terry, during her 40th birthday bash in Mexico — which is, quite possibly, the antidote of “boring and stale.”
Catch new episodes of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills every Wednesday at 8 p.m. EST on Bravo.