Lisa Rinna’s Heartbreaking Goodbye to Ex and Days of Our Lives Costar Patrick Muldoon

Soap fans just got a gut punch: Patrick Muldoon has died, and Lisa Rinna marked it with a small, very Lisa Rinna moment that also reminds you just how wonderfully weird the 90s were.

Rinna’s quiet tribute

On Monday, April 20, 2026, Rinna, 62, posted a throwback from their Days of Our Lives run to her Instagram Story with a broken-heart emoji. It’s a promo-style shot from the early 90s: she’s in an off-the-shoulder top and high-waisted black jeans, sitting back-to-back with Muldoon, who’s grinning in a blue tee, a jean jacket, and light-wash jeans. They played siblings on the show — Billie and Austin Reed — which makes the photo sweet and, given their history, a little surreal.

About that history

Rinna has never exactly been shy about it: before she married Harry Hamlin (they tied the knot in 1997; he’s 74 now), she and Muldoon had a brief fling while working together on Days. She talked about it on the People in the 90s podcast back in July 2021 and put it the kind of blunt way only Rinna can.

"Having an affair with the guy who played my brother. Well, not an affair, but a couple of one-night stands with the guy who played my brother. Patrick Muldoon and I had, like, a thing."

On screen they were siblings; off screen it was short-lived. Very 90s soap energy.

The work history, at a glance

• Days of Our Lives: Both played Billie (Rinna) and Austin (Muldoon) Reed from 1992 to 1995. Rinna later popped back in a multi-episode arc in 2018; Muldoon returned in 2012 for more than 30 episodes.
• Melrose Place: Muldoon joined in 1995 (season 3) as Richard Hart and stayed through early season 5 in 1996. Rinna arrived in season 5 as Taylor McBride; they actually shared the screen in three episodes. She remained on the show through season 7 in 1998.

What happened Sunday

Muldoon died on Sunday, April 19, 2026, at 57 after a heart attack. His manager confirmed the news. His sister, Shana Muldoon-Zappa, told TMZ he was showering when his girlfriend, Miriam Rothbart, found him unconscious on the bathroom floor. Paramedics could not revive him at the scene.

How friends are remembering him

Friends described him as the guy who did a little of everything with heart — he wrote poetry, cracked jokes, gave the kind of bear hugs people remember, loved animals and people in equal measure, and had that show-up-and-make-you-feel-seen quality. Stylish and charismatic, he reportedly attacked life with a full-tilt, rock-and-roll spirit.

Alison Sweeney, another Days alum, posted on X that he was a rare one — brilliantly talented, endlessly kind, generous — and that his offbeat charm and humor lit up the set. In short: a gifted dude who is going to be missed, a lot.

It’s a tough loss for the soap crowd and for anyone who grew up on the chaos of 90s daytime TV. Rinna’s simple post said plenty.