It's Tea Time With Lisa Vanderpump

Darlings, you're in luck: We got an audience with the queen (of reality TV) just as her Hulu hit Vanderpump Villa is returning. Does she spill the you-know-what? Yes, indeed!

- CHRISTINA GARIBALDI & POLLY HUDSON

On her seventh season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Lisa Vanderpump’s tagline was “The crown is heavy, darlings. So just leave it where it belongs.” This was a knowing wink to being the leader of the pack on that hit, but today it’s more relevant than ever for the undisputed queen of not just Bravolebri-ties but all of reality TV.

“It’s been an incredible journey,” she tells Us. “I've done hundreds of episodes. T’ve had so much fun, I’ve had sadness, I've had surprise, I've had every element. Maybe it’s been magnified because it’s been on reality television, but an extraordinary experience for sure.”

Vanderpump remains an outlier, the exception to the reality rule, especially in the world of Real Housewives, because after nine seasons, she somehow managed to emerge with her marriage intact and no legal or financial issues. The Brit, 64, owns a slew of eateries and bars in L.A., Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe, Nev. The Vanderpump Dog Foundation has saved the lives of thousands of canines, with rescue centers in L.A. and China. Along with her enduringly happy marriage toa Ken Todd, 79, she’s an adoring mum to Pandora, 38, and Max, 33, and grandma to Pandora's children, Teddy and Greyson. Her Emmy-nominated spinoff Vanderpump Rules — set at her bar/resto SUR — has just announced a reboot after 11 popular seasons. The spinoff of that, The Valley, which she exec-produces, is going from strength to strength as its second season unspools on Bravo. “Tm all about doing passion projects where I’m at now in my life,” she reveals just as the wonderfully escapist Vanderpump Villa returns to Hulu (April 24).

Vanderpump sat down with Us to spill the proverbial tea on all her secrets, from behind-the-scenes reality dramas viewers never see to the only Housewife she still considers a friend.