Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin say they owe their love story to a certain pop singer.
The couple joined Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos on Live with Kelly and Mark‘s Love Show on Friday, where Rinna admitted to that Hamlin was “a broken man when [she] met him.”
Hamlin explained, “Okay, so I had been married for, like, 10 months or something like that and my lovely wife ran off with a pop singer.”
Rinna immediately identified the pop singer as Michael Bolton.
“I always say thank you, Michael Bolton, because I wouldn’t have this life and these babies without him,” she noted. “It’s true!”
Rinna and Hamlin, who got married in 1997 and have two daughters together, were referring to Hamlin’s second wife Nicollette Sheridan. Hamlin and Sheridan got married in 1991 before they eventually separated in 1992. According to People, Sheridan and Bolton got together that same year, and were together for five years. They got back together in 2005 and got engaged in 2006. However, Sheridan’s representative told the outlet in 2008 that she and Bolton had “amicably ended their engagement.”
Per People, Sheridan had denied cheating on Hamlin with Bolton after Rinna claimed she did on a February 2019 episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, though Hamlin and Rinna shot back at her denial at the time.
On Live, Hamlin revealed that Rinna had the opportunity to thank Bolton in person at a restaurant 15 years later.
Rinna recalled, “I went right up to him and I said, ‘Michael, I just have to thank you for my life. Without you, I would not have this family, these beautiful children…”
Ripa agreed that Rinna’s perspective is “so true,” gushing that she “can’t picture” Rinna and Hamlin without each other. Nonetheless, Rinna acknowledged that she is Hamlin’s “third wife,” as he was married to his first wife, Laura Johnson, from 1985 until 1989.
Hamlin teased, “You had to go there.”
As for how Bolton reacted to Rinna’s gratitude, the “To Love Somebody Singer” responded quite well.
“So Michael, he looks me in the eye and he says, ‘You are so welcome,’” Rinna said. “Grabs my hands and he goes, ‘You are so welcome.’ It was such a funny moment.”
Hamlin added, “It was pretty classic.”
Live with Kelly and Mark airs on weekdays. Check out their website for your local listings.
