Yolanda Foster Divorce Blamed On Lyme Disease, ‘Real Housewives’ & Fame: David Foster Thinks ‘RHOBH’ Star’s Faking?

Yolanda Foster shocked fans when the Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills star announced her divorce from David Foster. Now, a source says that Yolanda’s role on RHOBH marked the beginning of the end for the famous couple, reported Entertainment Tonight (ET).

Foster longed for fame, the source told ET, and she felt that starring on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills would fulfill her dream. David and Yolanda wed in autumn 2011, and Foster debuted on the reality TV show only 12 months later.

“The show definitely was the beginning of the end,” the insider revealed to ET. “David never wanted to do the show to begin with, but he saw how much Yolanda wanted to do it, so he agreed.”

David Foster rarely appeared on RHOBH, and appeared to dislike the process of filming a reality TV show, according to the same ET insider. In contrast, Yolanda enjoyed it.

“[Yolanda] wanted more fame and thought it would be a fun thing to do. David hardly was ever on the show and when he filmed, he didn’t seem like he wanted to be there,” noted the source.

In addition to Yolanda’s quest for fame and her RHOBH starring role, David Foster was also absorbed in his own career, adding to the stress placed on their marriage. Moreover, the reality TV star suffered with Lyme disease, accentuating their relationship woes. The result of all those factors proved too much to sustain their marriage.

“Sadly we have decided to go our separate ways,” said the Fosters in their official announcement. “We’ve shared nine beautiful and joyous years together. During that time we experienced love, friendship and the inevitable challenges that come with managing a marriage, careers, blended families and health issues.”

Yolanda has seemingly sought to stay positive, making an effort to rock the red carpet to celebrate the debut of the latest Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills season.

“I keep going, one foot in front of the other,” mused Yolanda. “Obviously, this is a difficult time and I’m heartbroken, but [I’m] grateful to have my job and be dressed and up out of the bed.”

Another RHOBH star, Lisa Vanderpump, offered her own perspective on the split.

“I think the dynamic can change in a relationship when the woman suddenly is thrust into the spotlight,” opined Lisa.

One insider bluntly told the Daily Mail that 66-year-old David Foster could no longer sustain the marriage because he felt that the spotlight resulting from RHOBH was distasteful and detracted from his work and philanthropy. In addition, his 51-year-old wife had urged him to go on the reality TV show in order to help Bella and Gigi Hadid boost their modeling career success.

David’s friend, whose alias is Robin Hood 702, is a professional gambler who earned the title by using the money he made by “robbing” casinos to give to those in need. He said David was worn by Yolanda’s endless quest for fame combined with the constant stress of her Lyme disease battle and RHOBH spotlight.

“David gave his all to his marriage, but dealing with Yolanda’s illness, dealing with the RHOBH show and juggling a successful career, it came with a lot of stress and had such an overwhelming emotional toll on him,” said Robin.

Not only did Yolanda’s battle with Lyme disease impact David personally, it also made it difficult for him to work, according to David Foster’s friend.

“How do you go into the studio and come up with a hit song when your wife is lying in bed sick. It takes it out of you. David also travels a lot and they simply weren’t spending any time together,” added Robin.

Moreover, the publicity that David Foster received for RHOBH, rather than his music, perturbed him.

“David does not want his legacy to be reality TV,”summed up David Foster’s friend.

Robin also said that Yolanda’s daughters Gigi and Bella as well as the reality TV star herself benefited from their appearances on the Real Housewives. He says that Yolanda saw RHOBH as a way to help her daughters succeed in the competitive modeling world while enjoying the fame herself.

Although David Foster truly loved his wife and supported her, he felt the emotional toll of her illness as well as the pressure of her role in RHOBH, Robin told the Daily Mail.

“For four years she was in bed and he was by her side. But when she wasn’t in bed Yolanda wanted to appear on RHOBH. He suddenly found himself in this reality show where they are fighting and screaming and yelling for ratings. David did it for Yolanda, but he never wanted to be a reality star, he hated it and he doesn’t particularly care for the level of fame she sought.”

However, Radar Online quotes a source who says David may suspect Yolanda has been faking Lyme disease recently.

“David is telling friends he believes she was cured of it long ago, but she’s been playing up ongoing symptoms because she enjoys the attention,” said the source.

Yolanda received her diagnosis one year after they tied the knot. The insider said that initially she truly was ill and David accompanied her to physicians’ appointments,but then the situation changed.

“Yolanda just seemed to really enjoy all of the attention she was getting,” added the insider. “Getting older seems to have been very hard for [her]. Now, it looks like she isn’t ready to give up the role of sick patient.”

The insider also told Radar that her doctors urged her to stop traveling overseas for treatments because they thought it was exacerbating her symptoms, but she declined.