FINAL GOODBYE

‘Real Housewives’ Star Reveals Assisted Suicide Experience

Lisa Rinna said her dad passed away with the help of a “death doula” in 2016.

On the latest episode of her podcast, Real Housewives star Lisa Rinna has revealed that her 94-year-old father died by assisted suicide with the help of a “death doula.” The 61-year-old actress said that her father died in 2016 thanks to Oregon’s 1997 Death with Dignity Act, which allows terminally ill patients to end their lives with the help of medical assistance. “I never told this story at the time,” said Rinna. “I had just started the [Real Housewives of Beverly Hills] show, and I think it was just too painful.” An emotional Rinna said that watching her father die was a “surreal” experience and that she didn’t feel like she was in her body. Her father had to administer his own medication: “pick up the juice, or whatever, to drink it themselves,” said Rinna, adding that he was frustrated when there was a two-day delay in receiving the medication because he was “in pain” and “really unhappy.” Rinna said the experience was “nothing gruesome” and her father just went to sleep in a “very peaceful” way. Although it’s a “very humane” way to go, she said, “it didn’t feel awful, but it felt awful.”