Lisa Rinna has spoken candidly about how her sex life with husband Harry Hamlin has changed over the years.
The former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, 60, opened up about everything from sex to the postpartum depression she experienced after the birth of her first child in a digital cover story for Cosmopolitan’s “Sex After 60” issue, published on 9 January.
Rinna, who has been married to The West Wing actor for nearly 30 years, admitted that her sex life with Hamlin has had its fair share of “ebb and flow” as they’ve grown older. The Days of Our Lives alum admitted that for Hamlin, who is 12 years older than her, his “desire levels” have changed with age.
“We really have great sex together, and we always have. It’s just that maybe it doesn’t happen quite as often as it did when you’re in your 30s and in your 20s, I would say. And I think that’s normal,” Rinna told the outlet, describing changes in their sexual relationship as the “natural evolution of life”.
However, the model revealed that she wasn’t always so open about her relationship with sexuality. Rinna was raised in Oregon - where sex “wasn’t something that nice girls did or talked about or flaunted” - and she explained that she “grew up very repressed”.
“I have not always been this in touch with my sexuality at all,” the Melrose Place star said. When she experienced postpartum depression after the birth of her eldest daughter, Delilah Belle, Rinna said that she “completely lost [her] mojo” during the first 15 months of her daughter’s life. She was later prescribed an antidepressant and joined a pole-dancing class. “That changed everything, because it felt safe,” Rinna said about taking pole dancing lessons. “It changed my whole perception and fear about sexuality and expressing yourself.”
Despite openly welcoming changes to her sex life, the TV personality maintained that she doesn’t “feel like” she’s 60 years old. Nevertheless, Rinna discussed how she’s received more wisdom and confidence that comes with age. “I’ve gotten to that place where at 60, I am so much more confident than I was at 30. I love this age because I’m freer and more confident and more passionate than I’ve ever been,” she said.
In addition to her confidence, she’s felt more comfortable admitting to herself (and to her husband) that she may not “want to have sex every five seconds”. Instead, Rinna told Cosmopolitan that she’s no longer putting “pressure on [herself]” at 60 years old.
“You can’t fight ageing. Ageing is going to happen. How do I do it so that I feel good and I’m happy? That’s what I’m looking for, and I’m still passionate, and I’m still curious about life,” the mother of two explained. “I don’t necessarily need to look like I’m 20 years old, though that’s fun if you can get it. But you know what I’m saying? It’s about how do you morph yourself into this era and still feel good, be curious, be passionate, and be happy?”
For Rinna, she shared that being prescribed HRT (hormone replacement therapy) by her doctor as she entered menopause was one change that has helped her “stay feeling good about myself”.
It’s no secret that women in society face a double standard when it comes to ageing, especially in Hollywood. However, one “tremendous gift” Rinna has been given when it comes to embracing criticism - or rejecting it entirely - is by not caring what people think.
“I just don’t give a s*** about what people think about me, and that has been a tremendous gift that I have learned,” Rinna said. “Everything that I’ve gone through has brought me to this point where I do not f***ing care what anybody thinks about me.
“I don’t need your approval,” she added. “I don’t need you to tell me whether I’m good, bad, ugly, cute, whatever. I’m going to do whatever I feel to make me happy.”
