Why Kyle Richards May Really Be Ready to Exit ‘RHOBH’ After ‘Difficult’ Season 13 and Reunion (Exclusive)

Diamonds get a little heavy to hold after a while… like, say, 13 years.

“It was not easy shooting this season, and it’s certainly not easy watching it all back and having to relive it all again,’ OG The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kyle Richards confesses to ET ahead of season 13’s finale next week.

“I’m just sort of waiting for it to be over, to be honest,” she admits. “I feel like I’ve gotten through, like, the hardest parts, but then I have a little break… and then more difficult stuff comes up.”

Over the next two weeks, viewers will see more of that difficult stuff, as Kyle opens up about her marital troubles in-depth, including a tear-filled conversation with her estranged husband, Mauricio Umansky, and their four daughters (Farrah, Alexia, Sophia and Portia) about Kyle and Mau’s decision to separate. Then comes reunion, taped a few weeks ago, with Kyle in the hot seat to fill in the gaps of her story, as much as she’s willing to share. She says there are still factors to figure out in her personal life, things she doesn’t have the answers to quite yet, and therefore can’t reveal everything.

“I was honest you know with everybody, I just didn’t want to go into details on camera, which I was still working out the details in my head — and with my therapist,” she offers. 

Kyle’s no stranger to public scrutiny, but season 13 felt different, with her most personal story yet — the possible end of her marriage — unfolding in real time as cameras rolled. In fact, cameras went back up after filming ended to capture more of her and Mau’s process as the news of their split went public. 

“This season, when I was struggling so much personally and I felt like people were coming at me when I really just needed friends and support, I really thought, how can I continue to do this?” she says. “Why would I put myself through this? I was already struggling so much in my personal life, why would I want to be tortured in front of the cameras, and then have to relive this again in six months? But, obviously, one day the time will come where I say enough is enough.”

Kyle’s one of the longest-serving Housewives in Bravo history, and one of two OGs (New Jersey‘s Teresa Giudice being the other) left standing. With longterm ‘Wives (for instance, Kandi Burruss after 14 seasons on Atlanta) now opting out of the reality TV experience, Kyle seems to think she’s not far behind. 

“Every year it’s like, should I? Should I?” she says. “I remember years ago saying, after season 5, I’m not doing any more. Here I am. But, you know, right now it doesn’t sound so great. But I hate to even say that because who knows what I’m going to feel like in a month or two? I don’t know.”

“Every season, like, do you leave on a high note, or was your season so bad you don’t ever want to come back again?” she laughs. “I don’t know. I don’t have that answer.”

Kyle says she’s not sure what’s next for her story, but she’ll be sticking around Los Angeles for a few more years at least, quelling concern she was abandoning the city she’s infamously called out in her taglines over the year. 

“Oh yeah, that was another headline: ‘Kyle’s leaving California!'” she cracks, referencing the stories that popped up online after sharing her desire to lead a simpler life, possibly in her beloved Aspen, Colorado, on a recent episode of RHOBH.

“Portia will be 16 on March 1,” she notes. “I can’t go anywhere until she’s done with high school, and then I will reevaluate everything and see where I’m at, but for me, to be living somewhere away from paparazzi and the spotlight, obviously, I have to make some life changes, but that’s when I’m most at peace.”

“Even before the issues with Mauricio and me, we had talked about moving out of California,” she adds. “Everybody has to be on the same page, though. I mean, I’m not going unless all four daughters come with me! But, as they get older, I realize maybe that wouldn’t necessarily happen. So I don’t know, we’ll see. … Maybe it’s not Aspen, maybe it’s somewhere else.”

“I’m at a point in my life where I don’t really know what’s next,” she reiterates. “I’m open to many things.”

The same could be said for Beverly Hills. The season’s hit a high with ratings, but received mixed feedback from fans, as the cycle goes, with some calling for a cast shakeup. Season 13 was itself a bit of a shakeup after the departure of longtime breakout star Lisa Rinna, divisive season 12 addition Diana Jenkins and fan-favorite “friend of” Kathy Hilton, Kyle’s older sister. Only six ‘Wives returned — Kyle, Erika Jayne, Dorit Kemsley, Garcelle Beauvais, Sutton Stracke and Crystal Kung Minkoff — joined by a seventh, Annemarie Wiley, midway through filming. Brought in by Kyle, Annemarie had a rough entry into the group, receiving an even rougher response from the audience. 

“I don’t think there is a shakeup that needs to happen,” Kyle cautions. “I know that there was a lot of talk about Annemarie, but I think people, you need to get to know someone better and she was thrown in the middle of a season and with difficult circumstances; she’s never been in a situation like this. It can be very jarring, very deer-in-the-headlights situation So, I don’t know… I think that we have a great cast, you know? The seasons depend on what’s going on in people’s lives. So, I don’t know, I think, no matter what, it’s going to be a very different season next year.”

Season 13 feels a little like a rebuilding year after a tough few seasons centered around Erika’s life, tangled in a web of legal troubles thanks to her estranged husband, disgraced attorney Tom Girardi. The focus returned to the group dynamics this year, which changed for Kyle after season 12’s emotionally charged reunion. Her one-time closest friend on the cast, Dorit, didn’t back her up in the way she needed to when forced to discuss Kathy’s alleged off-camera bad behavior on a cast trip to Aspen. That created division, compounded by Kyle investing in other friendships, which, she’s noted, better align with current lifestyle choices (she’s been sober for more than a year). Then, this season, Kyle felt a slight bit of betrayal when Dorit broached the subject of her home life repeatedly on camera.

“I didn’t love being asked about things about my marriage from her, because we’re closer, with the camera that’s this close to my face in my car driving,” she explains, referencing an awkward conversation between them from early in the season, during which Dorit encouraged Kyle to open up to her more.

“I understand that we signed up for this job, but I can only say that so many times,” she continues. “Just watching the season, and some of the things that are said in the interviews, set me back sometimes, because I’m thinking to myself, I’m already struggling so much. If you’re my friend, don’t make it more complicated for me.”

It’s all unpacked at the season 13 reunion. 

“Leading up to that day, if I heard one more person say, ‘This is going to be your most difficult reunion ever…’ I thought I was going to scream, and I did know that,” Kyle says. “Although I was like, ‘Well, season 5 was pretty brutal…’ you know, seeing that split screen with my sister, Kim, and me, I will never forget. But, I did leave there feeling better than I went into it.”

“After last season, that was my goal,” she adds. “I want to leave here feeling better about things than I do going into it. And I got to say my piece to everybody, and I got to answer a lot of questions.” 

Ahead of the taping, Erika asked Housewives executive producer/reunion moderator Andy Cohen on his show, Watch What Happens Live, to “eviscerate” Kyle and the other women at reunion. 

“There was also a lot of talk about that, but I love Erika and I know that she wants the best for me,” Kyle says. “I wasn’t offended by that. I was a little hurt at first, to be honest, ‘cause I was like, what is this? But she did give me a heads up and, for me, it was her saying, ‘I was just dragged last year, let’s treat us all fairly.'”

“I knew that she did not want to see me hurt,” she says. “I always know that about Erika.”

It seems Andy delivered on Erika’s request, to an extent. He previously told ET that he wasn’t interested in “eviscerating” anyone, but he did want answers about a number of topics. 

“Andy asked me a lot of difficult questions, and I’m in a place in my life where I really, I don’t care,” Kyle shares. “I answered as honestly— not as honestly as I could, I answered very honestly, and some of the things I think about I’m like, I’m really surprised I said that. Wow. I wouldn’t— I mean, Kyle two years ago never would’ve said or answered these things.”

Kyle says she absolutely got what she needed out of reunion day, but can’t say the same for others. 

“A couple people left some things unsaid,” she teases, “and you’ll have to see why and what happened.”

Kathy returns to the reunion stage for a surprise segment, said to close the loop on season 12’s lingering issues, much of which she and Kyle resolved off-camera. 

“She’s just been so supportive through everything I’m going through,” Kyle says of Kathy, “and really made a point to say, ‘I’m here for you, I love you, you’re my baby sister — whatever you need, you know I’ve got you,’ so having her be there in what was supposed to be my most difficult season ever gave me some security.”

As for whether Kathy’s cameo signals a return for season 14, Kyle’s unsure. Fans have yet to get a much-desired season featuring all three sisters — Kyle, Kim and Kathy — as cast members. Housewives initially started as a potential vehicle for the siblings, before morphing into what it became.

“Everybody wants to see the three sisters,” Kyle muses. “It’s so funny because they’ve seen us fight so much, but they really love the three sisters together. Of course, when the show that was originally going to happen with Kathy, Kim and Kyle, way before the Housewives, nobody really knew the dynamic of our relationship. So now it’s like, OK, now people want to see for another reason.”

“But we are all in a good place right now, so that makes me happy,” she adds. “[Fighting with my sisters] is something I just do not need on my plate right now, so that makes me feel very grateful.”

While she figures out what life looks like from here, Kyle’s continuing to focus on herself. What she once viewed as selfish behavior is actually what she needs in her evolution.

“I was definitely a people pleaser,” she reflects. “I just didn’t want to do that anymore. I don’t want to be a people pleaser. I don’t want my daughters to be people pleasers. I want them to do what makes them happy and stand up for themselves and be strong women and, you know, be their biggest advocate, and why should I be any different?”

Longtime supporters shouldn’t worry about Kyle changing too much, though.

“Oh, I could do a split even if I’m not drinking,” she quips. “The reason I do the splits — I just want to clear that up right now — it’s because, if I don’t use it, I’ll lose it. So it’s not that I’m trying to show off, or you haven’t seen it before. I know you’ve seen the splits, OK? But if I don’t use it, I’m gonna lose it. So there you go. You’re gonna see them until I can’t do them anymore, how’s that?”

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo. Episodes stream next day on Peacock. 

RELATED CONTENT: