When Yolanda Hadid signed on to be a part of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, she and her
husband, Grammy award-winning producer, David Foster, appeared to be the perfect match. But
not everything was what it seemed, in Tinseltown. Here's why Yolanda and David ultimately divorced.
"David was my life partner, my best friend. And now I miss my best friend."
While David may have reportedly seen the divorce coming, Yolanda is adamant that she absolutely did
not. In her 2017 memoir Believe Me: My Battle With the Invisible Disability of Lyme Disease,
Hadid details how the couple had watched a Lakers game and enjoyed a romantic
dinner to celebrate David's birthday. And the following morning, he told her over the phone,
"We need to talk. […] I can't do this anymore. But we'll discuss it tonight."
Yolanda said she tried one last time to reach out, admitting that she still loved him. But
David only came back to their shared home to get some clothes. She left a few weeks later,
after reportedly receiving a letter from his lawyer about their legal separation.
"I like to have fun, but I don't play games."
Yolanda signed on for Season 3 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in 2010,
just a year before she and David got married. But although she loved being on the show,
he wasn't nearly as happy about making even just a few appearances. In 2019, he told the L.A. Times,
"[The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills] was just
kind of a nightmare for me and something that I really wish I hadn't been part of."
"And what I wanna say is, 'Hey, I got 16
f------ Grammys, okay? I've sold half a billion records. F--- that show."
Although David hated the experience, Yolanda was dependent on the income.
In her memoir, she claimed that David insisted on keeping their
finances separate because money had fueled fights with his previous wives. She added,
"Of course, he doesn't want to provide for my children. That's [my ex-husband's] job
and my job and exactly the reason why I am very driven to keep working."
Yolanda is unsure of exactly when she contracted Lyme disease, but her symptoms manifested one
year into her marriage. In her memoir, the former model said her diagnosis and subsequent illness
took a toll on her relationship. When news broke of the couple's split, a source told Page Six,
"David thinks everything revolves around her
and her illness. It's become the biggest narrative of her show."
"I don't remember, I don't remember what it's like to be normal."
Another source told Us Weekly at the time,
"David and his family think Yolanda just loves the attention of being sick.
They believe she's exaggerating her condition. And they point out that she's
never gotten a legit diagnosis or a second or third opinion."
Foster, however, denied the claims and told the outlet,
"I have always had and continue to have the utmost respect and love for Yolanda,
which is why it is so frustrating to see headlines questioning her chronic, debilitating illness."
Even though Foster was publicly claiming he supported his then-wife,
Yolanda documented her ex-husband's alleged coldness in her memoir. And perhaps shockingly,
Foster himself doesn't necessarily disagree with her recollection of events. In his documentary,
David Foster: Off the Record, the Grammy winner acknowledged that
he probably behaved poorly during their nine years together. He said,
"Anyone that calls me an a--hole for the things I've done,
I think they're probably right. I think I have been an a--hole a lot."
"I don't think I particularly would have liked the younger David Foster because I was cocky."
He claimed that when it comes to relationships,
he's the type to head for the hills when the going gets rough.
In David's documentary, the producer goes on the record about many of his failings in life,
particularly when it comes to his romantic relationships. In regard to his marriage
with Yolanda, he makes it clear once again that their split had nothing to do with her diagnosis.
"How could I leave a sick woman? The fact of the matter is
that is not the reason I left. It was for a different reason which I will never disclose."
For fans wanting closure,
it looks like the music producer is keeping the details of the split locked in the vault.
Over time, it appears that Yolanda and David's opposing natures eventually became too much.
Yolanda was spending most of her time at home, managing her illness, and David was
traveling extensively for work. Yolanda opened up about their lifestyles, explaining to Dr. Oz,
"At the end of the day, David never changed,
I changed. Unfortunately, these are the cards that life dealt me. […] My focus,
my energy goes to trying to get well […] and David's life is really traveling,
going to concerts, loud music. And I mean, I couldn't, I can barely listen to the radio."
Yolanda then offered a bit of an olive branch to David, adding,
"The patient suffers, but the caretakers suffer too. Because
life doesn't only change for us, it changes for the person next to you."
"You're a really good nurse.”
"Yeah."
"This is not what you signed up for, my baby. This wasn't part of the nuptials."
The couple's divorce was finalized in 2017, according to Entertainment Tonight.
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