A story for the ages. Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin have been married for over two decades — but the couple’s journey to happily ever after wasn’t always easy.
After meeting in 1992, Rinna and Hamlin immediately felt a connection even though they were both in other relationships.
“It was sparks right away. She had just been to the circus the day before and she said, ‘Oh my God, I went to the circus last night and it was so sexy!’ I’m thinking to myself, ‘Wait a minute, here’s this girl. She’s sitting there and the elephants and the clowns and all that,’” the L.A. Law alum recalled on The Jess Cagle Show in 2019. “Because the only circus I’d ever been to was Ringling Brothers. But she was talking about Cirque du Soleil, which is very sexy, but I didn’t know that.”
Hamlin, who was married to Nicollette Sheridan from 1991 to 1992, noted that he was interested in Rinna from their first conversation. “I had not seen Cirque du Soleil at that point, so I thought, ‘If this girl can be turned on by elephant dung and whatever, I’m good with her.’ I was enchanted right away,” he added.
The pair reconnected later that year after they were both single. According to Rinna, it took some time for Hamlin to take the next step in their relationship due to his past. (The Emmy nominee was previously married to Laura Johnson from 1985 to 1992. He also shares son Dimitri with ex Ursula Andress.)
“Harry had been married twice before me, so Harry wasn’t very excited to get married again. Like, not at all. Zero,” the reality star explained on Live With Kelly and Ryan in 2017. “It took five years, which is kind of a long time when you’re waiting for it. I’d never been married.”
The California native continued: “So, long story short, we’re at dinner up in Canada. We’re just sitting at dinner and all of the sudden he just, like, out of the blue says, ‘I think we should get married, what do you think?’ That’s how romantic it was. Of course, I said yes, but I made him, afterward in the bathroom, I said you have to get down on your knee and propose for real, for real.”
Following their 1997 nuptials, Rinna and Hamlin welcomed two daughters: Amelia and Delilah. Their fans got a glimpse at their home life when the duo signed up to film a reality series together.
“We decided we wanted to create something between the two of us. Our lives are crazy in that not only are we actors, artists, not only do we do shows like Dancing With The Stars or go to Broadway to do Chicago but we also have kids, we have a retail store that we’re trying to keep going all the time,” the Clash of the Titans alum told CNN in 2010. “So a lot of crazy things happen to us on a daily basis, and we just thought, ‘Well you know what, if we’re going to do something creative together, we could do a comedy. We could do something like I Love Lucy.’”
Their short-lived series was eventually followed up by an offer for The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Although Rinna was onboard, it took some time to convince Hamlin to take the offer.
“I went to him and said, ‘OK, they’re interested in me doing this show, the Housewives.’ ‘Nope, I’ll divorce you if you do it.’ I said, ‘OK.’ No more conversation. Done. That was that. I was fine with it,” she recalled during an OWN special in 2015. “So he comes back to me in like two days and said, ‘You know, I’ve thought about it. I’ve done some research — I’ve changed my mind. I think it might be a good thing for you.’ Harry being a really, really good businessman said, ‘It’s a good thing. It’ll work for you. You should do it.’”
Since joining the Bravo series in 2014, viewers have continued to get glimpses of Rinna and Hamlin’s marriage throughout the seasons.
Scroll down to relive Rinna and Hamlin’s long-lasting romance:
A story for the ages. Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin have been married for over two decades — but the couple’s journey to happily ever after wasn’t always easy.
After meeting in 1992, Rinna and Hamlin immediately felt a connection even though they were both in other relationships.
“It was sparks right away. She had just been to the circus the day before and she said, ‘Oh my God, I went to the circus last night and it was so sexy!’ I’m thinking to myself, ‘Wait a minute, here’s this girl. She’s sitting there and the elephants and the clowns and all that,'” the L.A. Law alum recalled on The Jess Cagle Show in 2019. “Because the only circus I’d ever been to was Ringling Brothers. But she was talking about Cirque du Soleil, which is very sexy, but I didn’t know that.”
Hamlin, who was married to Nicollette Sheridan from 1991 to 1992, noted that he was interested in Rinna from their first conversation. “I had not seen Cirque du Soleil at that point, so I thought, ‘If this girl can be turned on by elephant dung and whatever, I’m good with her.’ I was enchanted right away,” he added.
The pair reconnected later that year after they were both single. According to Rinna, it took some time for Hamlin to take the next step in their relationship due to his past. (The Emmy nominee was previously married to Laura Johnson from 1985 to 1992. He also shares son Dimitri with ex Ursula Andress.)
“Harry had been married twice before me, so Harry wasn’t very excited to get married again. Like, not at all. Zero,” the reality star explained on Live With Kelly and Ryan in 2017. “It took five years, which is kind of a long time when you’re waiting for it. I’d never been married.”
The California native continued: “So, long story short, we’re at dinner up in Canada. We’re just sitting at dinner and all of the sudden he just, like, out of the blue says, ‘I think we should get married, what do you think?’ That’s how romantic it was. Of course, I said yes, but I made him, afterward in the bathroom, I said you have to get down on your knee and propose for real, for real.”
[jwplayer pl419qua-zhNYySv2]
Following their 1997 nuptials, Rinna and Hamlin welcomed two daughters: Amelia and Delilah. Their fans got a glimpse at their home life when the duo signed up to film a reality series together.
“We decided we wanted to create something between the two of us. Our lives are crazy in that not only are we actors, artists, not only do we do shows like Dancing With The Stars or go to Broadway to do Chicago but we also have kids, we have a retail store that we’re trying to keep going all the time,” the Clash of the Titans alum told CNN in 2010. “So a lot of crazy things happen to us on a daily basis, and we just thought, ‘Well you know what, if we’re going to do something creative together, we could do a comedy. We could do something like I Love Lucy.'”
Their short-lived series was eventually followed up by an offer for The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Although Rinna was onboard, it took some time to convince Hamlin to take the offer.
“I went to him and said, ‘OK, they’re interested in me doing this show, the Housewives.’ ‘Nope, I’ll divorce you if you do it.’ I said, ‘OK.’ No more conversation. Done. That was that. I was fine with it,” she recalled during an OWN special in 2015. “So he comes back to me in like two days and said, ‘You know, I’ve thought about it. I’ve done some research — I’ve changed my mind. I think it might be a good thing for you.’ Harry being a really, really good businessman said, ‘It’s a good thing. It’ll work for you. You should do it.'”
Since joining the Bravo series in 2014, viewers have continued to get glimpses of Rinna and Hamlin’s marriage throughout the seasons.
Scroll down to relive Rinna and Hamlin’s long-lasting romance:
[podcast_block]
Credit: Bei/Shutterstock
1997
The actor proposed to Rinna during a trip to Canada.
Credit: Bei/Shutterstock
1997
The twosome exchanged vows in the backyard of their Hollywood Hills home in March 1997.
Credit: Bei/Shutterstock
1998
The newlyweds expanded their family with daughter Delilah Belle in June 1998.
Credit: Bei/Shutterstock
2001
The duo’s second daughter, Amelia Gray, was born in June 2001.
Credit: Charles Sykes/Shutterstock
2010
he pair teamed up on a reality series titled Harry Loves Lisa. The TV Land show ran for one season and followed Rinna and Hamlin’s everyday life with their daughters.
Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
2014
The Melrose Place alum returned to reality TV during season 5 of Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Through the years, viewers have gotten to see Rinna and Hamlin’s dynamic play out on screen.
Credit: Matt Baron/Shutterstock
2017
“Happy Anniversary to the love of my life Harry Hamlin! My soul mate, my everything! I’d be lost without you baby!” the Bravo personality wrote alongside a special Instagram tribute to her husband.
Credit: Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
2019
The Shameless actor gushed about how his bond with Rinna has gotten stronger over time.
“We listen to each other. Really listen to each other. The thing about listening is that it’s not something that comes innately to human beings. Normally we have a tape playing in our heads all the time,” he shared with The Daily Beast. “It can be hard to allow what other people are saying actually in. That’s what Lisa and I do — we listen. And she’s smart, she’s the smartest person I have ever met. She’s smart as a whip. Our favorite thing is to hang out.”
Credit: ETIENNE LAURENT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
2019
“Lisa and I are of the same mind. When you get married, you get married,” the Golden Globe nominee exclusively told Us Weekly. “So we have a very functional relationship, and we respect each other and listen to each other and admire each other and we let each other be. We’re not helicopter husband and wife.”
Hamlin noted that their marriage worked because of how “completely and utterly” opposite they are in their lives. “But I love to cook and she doesn’t, so we all get fed as a result of that. I have no interest in pop culture and she does so whatever I know about pop culture I get from her,” he added. “As far as the science stuff goes, she’s marginally into that but she’s very busy with all the things that she’s doing.”
Credit: AFF-USA/Shutterstock
2022
Rinna reflected on the pair’s love in honor of their 25th anniversary. “They lived happily ever after,” she wrote via Instagram. “March 29, 1997 25 years .”
Credit: Courtesy Lisa Rinna/Instagram
2022
“Day 12 after My patients shoulder surgery. He’s doing well! ,” Rinna captioned a TikTok video of her dancing around her husband while he read a book.
