Lisa Rinna, 60, Makes History as Cosmo’s Oldest Cover Model: ‘I’m Going to Age Disgracefully’

Rinna, who has been married to husband Harry Hamlin for 26 years — quite a feat for any couple, Hollywood or not — wasn’t always so in tune with her sexuality. “I grew up very repressed, like everybody did in the ’60s. It just wasn’t something that nice girls did or talked about or flaunted, especially not in Medford, Oregon, where I was raised,” explains Rinna. “You’re just a good girl, and you don’t say how you feel; you just try to be quiet. You can see how well that went for me. I rebelled, certainly after a while.”

Her relationship with Hamlin, 72 — and some postpartum pole-dancing classes — helped her through her own sexual revolution. “I did [the classes] for a good two years, and I don’t think I ever looked back,” says the mom of two (daughters Delilah, 25, and Amelia, 22). “Then I was just able to really be open, really share it. Harry was thrilled, obviously. I mean, I learned a lot of really good tricks.”

And when it comes to aging and sexuality, she doesn’t hold back on what has worked for her. “I’m a big proponent of hormones, because I think that without them, life is just f - - - - - - miserable,” admits Rinna. “They have been really helpful in my being able to stay feeling good about myself,” she says, noting that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was the option that worked best for her. “This is just me, you know? Everybody’s so different.”

Rinna admits to being “really scared” of HRT initially because “both my mother and my sister had had breast cancer and were very against it. … I didn’t take hormones in the beginning of menopause, and I was really suffering. Everything you can go through, I was going through it. I couldn’t sleep, the hot flashes, everything, and I was anxious and angry and just a mess.”

Ultimately, Rinna found her answer in HRT and is quite pleased with the results. “Nobody tells you about what’s really going to happen. And for me, it’s about finding a way to just be comfortable and not put pressure on myself as to who I am in this moment at 60 years old. I don’t want to have sex every five seconds.”

Rinna’s bold approach to putting herself out there in every way might not be for everyone, but she does show that there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to aging.

“I’ve gotten to that place where at 60, I am so much more confident than I was at 30,” Rinna says. “I love this age because I’m freer and more confident and more passionate than I’ve ever been.”

The actress’s record-making cover photo seems to be part of an age-friendly trend. In May, lifestyle entrepreneur Martha Stewart graced the cover of Sports Illustrated’s annual swimsuit issue as the magazine’s oldest cover model, at 81. “Being fearless is very good,” she said.

Rinna would agree. The self-described “actor/hustler” makes no apologies for the life she’s lived and the choices she’s made. “I’ve done many things, but at least I know exactly what I’ve done and the price I’ve paid. And come on, we’re all human,” she says.

Maybe Rinna knows the true secret of aging, and it comes right down to tuning everyone else out: “I just don’t give a s - - - about what people think about me, and that has been a tremendous gift that I have learned,” she says, adding that her life’s journey has helped her with this conclusion. “I don’t need your approval. I don’t need you to tell me whether I’m good, bad, ugly, cute, whatever. I’m going to do whatever I feel to make me happy.”