Why Soap Star Eileen Davidson Cut Her Time On Real Housewives Short

Eileen Davidson might be best known to daytime television fans for her role as Ashley Abbott on "The Young and the Restless," but she was also a reality star, too. The actor appeared on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," but cut her time short from the popular Bravo reality series. And of course, many of her fans have always wondered why.

While Davidson is used to all of the on-screen drama in Genoa City (and also in Salem, as she was a part of the "Days of Our Lives" cast too), the women from Beverly Hills took things to another level. In an interview with Bravo Insider's Live After Bravo, Davidson admitted that at sometimes she was just a little misunderstood during her time on the show. She said, "Sometimes, you know, my true nature would come out. Can I just say something? Do you remember when I wore overalls to Dubai? I got so much flack for that. Do you know that overalls the following year were everywhere?! They were like 'Oh, she's wearing overalls!' And I'm like, 'Yeah, b***h, so's the rest of the world now!'"

But there was another reason why Davidson walked away from the glitz and glamour of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills."

Back in 2017, Eileen Davidson told People magazine that one of the reasons why she decided to leave "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" was because she had too much on her plate. Being both a soap star and a reality star left her very little time for anything else. She told the publication at the time, "After a lot of careful thought, I've decided because of my crazy schedules at "The Young and The Restless," as well as "Days of Our Lives," it's best for me and my family if I step away from being a Housewife for now."

It was a move that not only benefited Davidson, but was very much welcomed by her fans, too. When the actor confirmed that she was leaving "RHOBH" on X (formerly Twitter), her social media followers commented with, "Boo! Understandable but you were the logical girl! I will miss you but will see on Y&R," along with, "Very sad your leaving HHW, but did you say busy with Days!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited you're returning to Days." 

But in true "Real Housewives" drama style, there was speculation that Davidson had left the show for another reason, too.

Because there is just as much drama off-screen as there is on for the ladies of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," iconic reality star Lisa Vanderpump couldn't help but enter the chat about Eileen Davidson's decision to leave the show. While on "Watch What Happens Live" in 2019, Davidson told host Andy Cohen that she believed one of the reasons why Vanderpump was a no-show during a cast reunion was because of her ongoing feud with Kyle Richards, plus Vanderpump and Dorit Kemsley's 'Puppy Gate' scandal. As many fans can recall, Kemsley adopted a dog from Vanderpump's foundation but ended up giving it away. Well, Vanderpump didn't appreciate Davidson discussing her business on the show. She took to her X account and fired back with, "Mmm @eileen_davidson. At least I resigned, you weren't honest about the fact that you were fired ... Now that's a p***y move as you call it."

Now, as far as whether or not Davidson would ever return to "RHOBH," she has her doubts. The blonde beauty told ET Online in 2021, "It's kind of like being in high school, when you graduate everybody kind of goes their own way. I still have a lot of love and affection for all of them, but if you're not in that world, I don't know, it would be kind of weird trying to get back on that pony. I'm not sure."