RHOBH’s Kyle Richards calls separation from husband Mauricio a ‘divorce’ for the first time
Kyle Richards (L) and Mauricio Umansky ( R) are officially going through a divorce. (Getty)
As The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (RHOBH) season 13 gathers steam, star Kyle Richards has described her separation from husband Mauricio Umansky as a “divorce” for the first time.
The hit reality show burst back on to Bravo in the US last month, with the breakdown of Richards and Umansky’s 27-year-long marriage firmly at the centre of the drama.
The couple announced their separation in July but, at the time, insisted that rumours of a divorce were “untrue”. However, fans noticed that Richards, 54, was growing close to 28-year-old country singer Morgan Wade, leading to theories that the two had started dating – and when the pair reportedly got matching tattoos, tongues wagged even more.
Both poked fun at the dating speculation after Richards starred in Wade’s sapphic music video “Fall In Love With Me”, with the hope of “shedding light” on same-sex relationships in the US.
All this and more is explored in the latest season of RHOBH, which sees Richards address struggles in her marriage with co-stars Sutton Stracke, Erika Jayne, Garcelle Beauvais, Dorit Kemsley, Crystal Kung Minkoff and Annemarie Wiley.
While speaking to the press at BravoCon 2023 over the weekend, and discussing the difficulties she has faced over the past year, for the first time Richards referred to the separation from Umansky as a divorce.
“I’ve gone through a lot this last year that does change you,” she told reporters, according to TooFab. “Losing my best friend to suicide changed me. Going through my divorce, all that has made me stronger, but it definitely changes you as a person. I feel good.”
Explaining the current situation with Umansky in more detail, Richards added: “I’m grateful that we get along so well and love each other very much and we’re putting our family first.
“We’re still living under the same roof and I’m proud of the way that we are navigating through this. I just take it a day at a time.”
The TV personality admitted it would be tough to watch the latest season of RHOBH unfold. “I forgot to watch it and didn’t even remember to post about it. So, maybe that’s a subconscious thing. It’s just gonna be hard to relive all that,” she said.
Elsewhere, speaking on a BravoCon panel, Richards became tearful while talking about how hard it was to film the new season. “I told the girls in the beginning I was having a hard time and I just had to figure it out myself,” she said, according to People.
“We [Richards and Umansky] love each other very much and we are family no matter what happens, and have a very strong family unit. My three girls still live at home… he was busy doing Dancing with the Stars so he wasn’t around as much, but we’re trying to figure it out. We know we love each other.”
After the season premiere, Richards set the record straight about her rumoured lesbian romance with Wade while on Watch What Happened Live! With Andy Cohen.
“I can tell you that she is absolutely one of my best friends in the world,” she said. “Honestly, when I see these things [dating rumours], I’m like, if she didn’t have those tattoos people would not say that. I’m with my friends all the time and they don’t pay attention.”
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 13 airs every Wednesday on Bravo in the US.
