‘RHOBH’ Star Kyle Richards Details What Caused Separation from Mauricio Umansky

Kyle Richards is opening up more about her separation from husband Mauricio Umansky after 27 years of marriage, which the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills pair announced in July 2023.

“I think there were certain things that were there that we had kind of been putting on the back burner for a long time. You know, you’re pregnant and you’re breastfeeding. And then it was working and juggling the kids and you kind of forget about it, and then it resurfaces again,” said the Bravo reality star, actress and producer during a Wednesday visit to Hoda & Jenna on the Today show. “And I think I just kind of came to a, I would say a breaking point, honestly. And I’ve gone through a lot. I lost my best friend, and I think that really does change you and makes you look at things differently.”

Richards shared that when her best friend, Lorene Shea, died by suicide in 2022, which she she has discussed during the currently airing 13th season of the Bravo series, it played a role in reevaluating aspects of her life, including figuring out what she was willing to “accept and not accept” in her marriage. She added, “It’s not like there was one big thing [that caused the split]. We do love each other very much and have a lot of respect for each other, so that makes it even harder to make a decision like that.” 

The reality couple share four daughters, Farrah Brittany Aldjufrie, Alexia Simone Umansky, Sophia Kylie Umansky and Portia Umansky. Richards said that when they began filming this season of RHOBH, they hadn’t yet shared the news with their daughters. “I have a job to share my life, and to be honest. And I always have been. And he wasn’t really ready to share that, so that was very challenging for me to balance that,” she said. “And then I thought, ‘This is pretty apparent, so I’m just going to have to just put this out there that things are not great right now.'”

She noted that, currently, she and Umansky still “live under the same roof in different rooms,” but split their time in their various other properties. She said they are friendly when they are together as a family, and that she doesn’t know what the future holds, including if she’ll return to the series.

She said she felt a lack of support from the cast, noting castmate Erika Jayne as being the most supportive. And she said her sisters, Kim Richards and Kathy Hilton, have been supportive, despite a recent estrangement from the latter.

“My dream was to be married forever and grow old with this person. I did not want to be in this position, trust me,” she said of the fan response.

Richards’ comments about her separation come on the heels of Netflix’s trailer for Buying Beverly Hills season two, which released Tuesday. In the preview for what’s next in Umansky’s real estate series, the Agency co-founder is shown speaking with his daughters, explaining the reason behind the marriage not working out. 

“I had an amazing 26 years with your mom, an amazing 26 years. I wanted to do everything possible to just save it,” he says to his visibly emotional daughters. “So, you know, your mom came and she talked to me and she said, ‘I think I need space.’ She said to me, ‘Listen, the rules are that, you know, you go out, you date, you do whatever it is that you want to do. I’m not going to be asking you what you’re doing. I don’t want you to be asking me what I’m doing. Like, we are separated.'” 

Richards has starred as a main castmember for 13 seasons on the hit Real Housewives series, which airs its finale Wednesday. The trailer for the upcoming three-part reunion teases that Richards will address her separation, her and Umansky’s future, and her relationship with friend and musician Morgan Wade when taking her seat on the couch with host Andy Cohen and the rest of the cast, starting on Feb. 28 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo with part one.