Kathy Hilton sensed trouble in her sister Kyle Richards and Mauricio Umansky’s marriage long before their shock separation after nearly three decades together.
While many fans were stunned to learn that the seemingly picture-perfect couple’s relationship was struggling, the reality star shed some light on her younger sibling’s mindset over the past few years.
‘Kyle, she’s not a compulsive person,’ Kathy, 64, said during the highly-awaited part two of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 13 reunion, which aired on Wednesday.
The socialite, who has been married to real estate baron Richard Hilton since 1979, explained that Richards ‘doesn’t just jump in and make a decision.’
Kathy Hilton sensed trouble in her sister Kyle Richards and Mauricio Umansky’s marriage long before their shock separation after nearly three decades together
‘Kyle didn’t decide this in three months. … I bet she had been thinking [about this] for the last three or four years. I shouldn’t say that … but I did,’ the mother-of-four added.
Kathy noted that in the wake of the pair’s separation, which they announced in July 2023, that Mauricio’s been ‘going one way’ and ‘she’s going one way.’
‘They’re both trying to work,’ Kathy pointed out, referencing Umansky stint on ABC’s dance competition series that pairs celebrity contestants with professional dancers. ‘He’s dancing for four months on Dancing With the Stars.’
The fashion designer concluded: ‘I don’t like having bad energy with anyone, and I think this is good healing for Kyle.’
In February, Richards revealed on an Amazon Live that their decision to separate ‘happened after we were done filming [season 13 of RHOBH].’
‘[Then] the story came out and then the Netflix cameras happened to be in Aspen,’ she said of their breakup getting captured for her estranged spouse’s show Buying Beverly Hills.
Earlier this month, Richards confirmed they are still living together while appearing on an episode of Today with Hoda and Jenna.
‘The current status is we live under the same roof. It feels so funny to talk about this,’ Kyle said. ‘We live under the same roof in different rooms. We are fortunate enough that we have other homes. He comes and goes, and when we are all there, it’s sort of like… if he is there for dinner, great!’
While many fans were stunned to learn that the seemingly picture-perfect couple’s relationship was struggling, the reality star shed some light on her younger sibling’s mindset over the past few years (seen in April 2023)
‘Kyle, she’s not a compulsive person,’ Kathy, 64, said during the highly-awaited part two of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 13 reunion, which aired on Wednesday
Speaking about how their separation came about last year, Kyle told hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager: ‘I think there were certain things that were there and then we had kind of been putting it on the back burner for a long time.’
Referring to their family life, she continued: ‘You’re pregnant and you are breastfeeding and then it was working and juggling the kids and you kind of forget about it, you know, and it resurfaces again. And I think it just kind of came to a breaking point.
‘I had gone through a lot. I lost my best friend. I think that does change you and makes you look at things differently,’ she said, referring to her friend Lorene Shea – who died by suicide in May 2022.
‘I think that had a big part in it, definitely. But just… you know… what you are willing to accept and not accept. It’s hard because it’s not like there was one big thing, we love each other very much and have a lot of respect for each other and that makes it harder to make a decision like that.’
The socialite, who has been married to real estate baron Richard Hilton since 1979, explained that Richards ‘doesn’t just jump in and make a decision’
!['Kyle didn't decide this in three months. ¿ I bet she had been thinking [about this] for the last three or four years. I shouldn't say that ¿ but I did,' the mother-of-four added](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/07/14/82165743-13169305-image-a-24_1709823374703.jpg "Kathy Hilton Reveals Kyle Richards Considered Split from Mauricio Umansky for Several Years: 'I Probably Shouldn't Have Said That, but I Did' 9")
‘Kyle didn’t decide this in three months. … I bet she had been thinking [about this] for the last three or four years. I shouldn’t say that … but I did,’ the mother-of-four added
Kyle and Mauricio’s separation features in season 13 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, but she admitted that when the cameras first started rolling last year, even their children didn’t know about the split.
‘It was really hard to shoot this season because when the cameras went up, we had not even shared this with our 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.
‘That was very challenging for me to kind of balance that. Then I thought, “This is pretty apparent so I am going to have to put this out there that things are not great right now.”‘
When asked if she thinks there’s a chance that she and Mauricio will get back together, Kylie replied: ‘I really don’t know what my future holds right now, to be honest, which is the weirdest part of all of this.
Kyle and Mauricio pictured with their three daughters Alexia, 27, Sophia, 24, and 16-year-old Portia as well as Kyle’s oldest daughter Farrah, 35
Kyle has been romantically linked to 29-year-old singer Morgan Wade since last year
Kyle and Mauricio, pictured here in 2019, still ‘love each other very much’ but it’s unclear if they will get back together
‘I have always had so much stability my entire life, and I don’t really know where my future is… you know, next week,’ she added, before admitting that she find’s fan’s comments ‘very difficult’.
‘Even people who mean well, they are like, “what are you doing?” But you don’t live in our home, you don’t know what’s going on. You think I wanted to be in this position after being married all this time? I mean, my dream was to be married forever and grow old with this person. I didn’t want to be in this position, trust me. So it is hard being out in the public eye.
‘People say, “you were my inspiration”, and I get that I’m ruining their fantasy. I even had close friends who were upset about it at first, so I understand that. But there’s also so many sweet messages and people saying, “I admire your strength and you are inspiring to me”.’
Despite still living with Mauricio, Kyle has been linked to singer Morgan Wade for several months now and those dating rumors hit an all-time high last year in August after she joined Morgan in her music video for her single Fall In Love With Me, which featured the two women pining for each other and climaxed with a passionate kiss between them.
Earlier this year, Morgan opened up about how she and Kyle were getting along after it was rumored they were having problems after the singer deleted photos of the TV star from her Instagram page.
‘I am not fighting with @kylerichards18,’ Morgan said in a caption alongside a snap in which she posed alongside Kyle at her recent concert at the Country Music Hall of Fame.
In the picture, the duo had their arms around each other, flashing megawatt smiles, showing no indication of tension brewing between them – and Kyle decided to share it on her Instagram Stories.
In January, Kyle told Page Six that the reason Morgan had removed the majority of her posts was part of preparations to promote music she’s set to release.
Kyle and Mauricio, seen here in 1998, have yet to file for divorce since separating nearly eight months ago
Morgan and Kyle, pictured here in September 2022, have been spending a lot of time together
Earlier this year, Morgan squashed rumors of problems between her and Kyle when she posted a snap and said she was ‘not fighting’ with her
‘It’s very common for artists to do that,’ Kyle said. ‘That didn’t mean anything.’
In December last year, Kyle told DailyMail.com exclusively that she can sympathize with confusion over the current status of her relationship with Mauricio, as she revealed they have a ‘peaceful’ existence at home with their daughters, and even enjoy occasional movie nights.
‘We are good friends and we love each other, so we are very fortunate in that aspect,’ she said. ‘I think that’s why people are confused and sometimes question if it is even true that we’re separated.
‘I even have a hard time believing that we are as well, so I can understand. But we’re lucky in a sense, we don’t argue, and we can have a peaceful environment in our home and all give each other that space.’
