Lisa Hochstein may have become popular with Bravo fans after appearing on The Real Housewives of Miami, but she’s now known by the world after her messy divorce from plastic surgeon Lenny Hochstein became public. Now that the truth is out there, people want to know more about Lisa’s story.
After joining the Real Housewives franchise in 2012, her lifestyle became a topic of conversation because of how lavish it was. At the same time, behind that vanity was someone with a powerful story who made her dreams come true in America.
Lisa Is Not A Miami Native
RHOM left Bravo in 2013 before being rebooted on Peacock in 2021. Not much has changed about Lisa between then and now on The Real Housewives of Miami, but her story is just as interesting.
Lisa grew up in Toronto, Canada, but wanting more for her life, she started modeling as a way to see the world. She eventually found her way to the States, which was how she met and fell in love with Lenny before becoming a US citizen.
How She Met Lenny
According to Niki Swift, Lenny met Lisa in Las Vegas. Even though they lived on opposite sides of the country, Lisa moved to Miami to be with Lenny two months later.
Lisa said, "We decided to take a chance on love. So I decided to move to Miami. It was never on my radar to move here.” Six months after that, Lenny proposed, and the two started their journey as husband and wife from there. For a short time, Lenny was one of The Real Housewives top husbands, but that ship sailed after news of him cheating on her came to light.
A Hopeful Acting Career
Before marrying Lenny, Lisa was hoping to become an actress on top of being a model. There are plenty of Real Housewives who are actresses and chose to do the reality TV show as something fun and new to try. However, once Lisa met Lenny, she focused on building a family instead of an acting career.
According to her IMDb profile, Lisa had a small role in 2006's The Last Kiss starring Zach Braff. She was also in 2004's Against the Ropes (although her scene was late deleted) and 2003's Playmakers.With a love for the camera, it made sense for her to join the reality show.
Her Divorce Battle
Lisa and Lenny are bound to join one of the worst Real Housewives divorces on Bravo. Although they were together for almost 15 years, they had enough infidelity issues to call it quits. As seen on RHOM, Lenny told Lisa he was seeing someone else and wanted a divorce, completely blindsiding her. Since those scenes were filmed almost a year before the show was released, a lot has changed with their divorce battle.
According to US Weekly, Lisa claimed Lenny had cut her off financially, which has impacted how she cared for her two children. As for their multi-million dollar mansion, Lisa and her children currently reside in it but are in litigation over the home's eventual future, according to E! News.
A $50 Million Mansion
One of the first things fans noticed about Lisa's lifestyle was the size of her home. Placed on the coveted Star Island, the home is oceanfront and is a whopping 20,000 square feet, according to Bravo. The massive home has nine bedrooms, a cinema, an infinity pool, a temperature-controlled wine room, and as seen on the show, a massive closet that's mechanically controlled.
Although Lenny could potentially keep the house in their divorce, their $50 million mansion will go down as one of Bravo's most extravagant homes.
Her Plastic Surgery Journey
In an interview with She Knows, Lisa opened up about the plastic surgery she has had and claimed to be open about her surgeries as she has nothing to hide. She says, "I’ve had breast augmentation. I had a boob job when I was 19. And it wasn’t the best job. When I met my husband, I always wanted to fix it."
Lisa went on to say her soon-to-be ex-husband didn't want to perform surgery on her because it was an "unnecessary surgery," but eventually did it after Lisa begged. Aside from her breast augmentation, Lisa also had a rhinoplasty done.
The Real Housewives Of Miami Star She Wants Back
Although Lisa joined RHOM in season 2, she may as well be an original Housewife because she's been a part of every season since then. While the Peacock reboot has Alexia Nepola, Marysol Patton, Adriana de Moura, Larsa Pippen, Guerdy Abraira, Nicole Martin, and Julia Lemigova, it's easy to forget about the other Housewives that used to be on RHOM.
Lea Black, Cristy Rice, Ana Quincoces, Joanna Krupa, and Karent Sierra didn't return for the reboot. However, it looks like Lisa wished one former Housewife did return. In an interview with We Should Talk, Lisa wished Lea Black would come back. "[Lea’s] still a dear friend. I wish she was on the show, actually! I do. I think that she would’ve brought a lot to the show. I love Lea," she said.
Her Infertility Struggles Were Relatable & Profound For Reality TV
As seen in the original series, Lisa and Lenny struggled to have children of their own. Lisa broke down in tears after not being able to give her husband a child after years of trying. When IVF didn't work for the couple, they turned to surrogacy. One of the things fans wanted to know about the Peacock reboot was if Lisa was going to discuss her IVF and surrogacy path, and she has.
In 2013, Lisa told Your Tango, "These things take time, and I've talked to many women and I've realized that we're not alone. A lot of women have tried countless times and eventually, it happens for them, so I like to keep that in the back of my mind." In 2015, Lisa and Lenny had a son named Logan via surrogacy before having their daughter Elle four years later.
How Much Lisa Earns From Real Housewives
The highest-earning housewives are those that have been on their particular series for years without much of a break. Former housewives NeNe Leakes (The Real Housewives of Atlanta) and Bethenny Frankel (The Real Housewives of New York) were two of the former highest-earning housewives.
With Lenny and Lisa divorcing, Lenny disclosed how much Lisa earned from the show that would be taken into consideration during their divorce proceedings. According to Page Six, Lisa earned $30,000 an episode. In season 4, Lisa was in 14 episodes, earning a whopping $420,000.
Lisa Has Been Published In Playboy
In the early 2000s, Playboy was still a coveted magazine that most models wanted to be a part of - including Lisa. She got her wish and wound up appearing in the magazine three different times. Now that Lisa is a mom, however, the former model regrets it.
She told Huff Post, "It's something I did, but it's something I kind of wish I didn't do." She continued saying, "At the time I really glamorized it, but it was a really glamorous thing then. But now those pictures are out there for everyone to see, and it's not something I'm proud of." Despite Lisa's regrets, she's made a name for herself on Bravo, is a loving mother, and one of the most loved Housewives of all time for her transparency.
Source:gamerant.com