Chaos Meets Comedy: Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin Relive Their Live TV Robbery on ‘Let’s Not Talk About The Husband’

Some celebrity stories are so wild, you couldn’t script them if you tried. For Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin, one of those moments came during what should have been a routine morning show appearance. Instead of smiling for the cameras and promoting their projects, they found themselves in the middle of a real-time crisis—learning their boutique was being robbed while live on television.

On Let’s Not Talk About the Husband, the couple opens up about that unforgettable morning back in 2010. Together, they paint a picture of what happens when real life collides with live TV, and how even the most serious moment can turn into an oddly entertaining memory.

The phone call no one expects backstage

Backstage at NBC’s Today Show in 2010, Rinna and Hamlin were moments away from walking on set when Hamlin’s phone buzzed. He glanced down and saw a call from ADT, their security service. “I looked at it and thought, I have to take this,” he recalls. Seconds later, he learned Belle Gray, their clothing boutique in Sherman Oaks, was being robbed in real time.

The timing, as they explain, could not have been worse. “We were literally about to be called on,” Rinna says. “Harry had the phone to his ear, and I was like, what do we do?” When the producers ushered them onstage, Hamlin walked out mid-conversation, still trying to manage the crisis.

Hoda Kotb quickly noticed. “She asked, ‘So you’re on the phone?’ And Harry just goes, ‘Yeah, we’re getting robbed as we speak.'” Only in Hollywood could a line like that come across both deadpan and perfectly timed for television.

When a robbery becomes reality TV

As surreal as the moment was, this wasn’t the first time their boutique had been hit. Rinna explains it was actually the third robbery in one year. “By that point, we were always on edge when ADT called,” she admits. “It happened a lot.”

The couple later learned that ADT had not even contacted the police. That oversight could have ended in disaster, but in a twist straight out of a sitcom, the CEO of ADT happened to be watching the Today Show live. “The head of ADT saw me talking about it on television,” Hamlin says. “Next thing we know, we had ADT Gold service for the rest of our lives.”

Even in the middle of a loss—reports estimated $10,000 worth of merchandise stolen—Rinna managed to find the humor. “It was so ridiculous,” she says. “I mean, who gets robbed while they’re on national TV?”

The end of Belle Gray and the beginning of a new chapter

Looking back, the couple acknowledges that the robberies were part of a larger sign. Belle Gray had been a staple in the San Fernando Valley for a decade. Still, by 2008 and 2009, the retail crash was already cutting into business. “We went from $1,200 a square foot to $20 a square foot overnight,” Hamlin recalls. “We were just writing checks every month to keep the store open.”

Rinna believes the repeated break-ins sealed the decision. “By the third time, I thought, maybe the universe is trying to tell us something,” she explains. Soon after, they closed the doors on their fashion venture and focused instead on acting, writing, and eventually their own realityTV series.

It wasn’t an easy call to make, but they frame it now as part of their constant reinvention. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” Hamlin says. “We tried it, we learned from it, and we moved on.” Rinna laughs, adding, “We’re standing there doing a soft-shoe routine, and meanwhile, our store is being emptied out. What can you do but laugh?”

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