Your tip
RadarOnlineRadarOnline
or
Sign in with lockrMail
BREAKING NEWS
Exclusive

Reality Bites! 'RHOC' Alum Lydia McLaughlin Says Her 'Soul Was Empty' After 'Housewives' Experience

Lydia McLaughlin Glad She Left Show

April 27 2015, Published 7:29 p.m. ET

Link to FacebookShare to XShare to FlipboardShare to Email

Devout Christian Lydia McLaughlin says she signed on to the Real Housewives of Orange County to explore her faith. But after just one season in 2013, she knew she had to leave.

"I think my soul was just empty," the Beverly Hills Lifestyle magazine editor, 34, tells RadarOnline.com in an exclusive video interview. "I needed to refill it….I was depleted. I needed to go back to my faith…rather than constantly being around negativity."

Article continues below advertisement

The series' eighth season certainly had a lot of drama. Alexis Bellino and Tamra Barney clashed, Vicky Gunvalson fought bitterly with her daughter Briana, and Gretchen Rossi's fiancé Slade Smiley infamously upset McLaughlin by making cruel comments about her body.

"It makes you go nuts a little bit, and I wanted to protect myself," explains the mother of three, who just published her first book, Beyond Orange County: A Housewives Guide to Faith & Happiness. "And just focus on my family and my kids and my businesses and get back to what made me happy. Even though it was really fun, it wasn't for me."

MORE ON:
Lydia McLaughlin

DAILY. BREAKING. CELEBRITY NEWS. ALL FREE.

Article continues below advertisement

The experience was so traumatizing, she watches the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and the Real Housewives of New York, but not the franchise that brought her fame.

"I haven't watched the O.C. one just because it would be too weird," she says. "Like your ex-boyfriend with a new girlfriend. You don't want to look at that."

That said, McLaughlin says she's open to returning to reality TV— if God gives her the go ahead.

"I would just need to know that it was part of God's plan, and if that became really clear to me, then yeah, I would totally do it again!"

Should Lydia star in her own reality show? Sound off in the comments and watch the video below!

More From Radar Online

    Opt-out of personalized ads

    © Copyright 2024 RADAR ONLINE™️. A DIVISION OF MYSTIFY ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK INC. RADAR ONLINE is a registered trademark. All rights reserved. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service, Privacy Policy and Cookies Policy. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services. Offers may be subject to change without notice.