Dorit Kemsley says separation was PK's idea, not hers

"The Jennifer Hudson Show" Season 3
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A big part of the drama for this season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills centers on the fact that Dorit Kemsley and her husband, PK, are separated. Since the start of season 14, Dorit has revealed more about their separation, including the fact that she wasn't entirely truthful when she said she was doing so well at the season 13 reunion and the fact that she alleges that PK is a "full-blown alcoholic."

Now, she's opened up more on Bravo's Hot Mic podcast about the fact that getting a divorce wasn't even her idea and which of them decided that it would be best for her to return to RHOBH for season 14 even though they were going through such serious struggles in their marriage that they knew would have to be broadcast on TV.

Dorit Kemsely says it was PK's idea to get a divorce

According to Dorit Kemsley, she was not the one who decided to end her marriage and instead, that idea came straight from her husband, Paul Kemsley.

Dorit shared on the podcast that she was "taken aback" by the idea and that if it had been entirely up to her, that's not where the two of them would be right now.

She told the podcast, "If you asked me, in truth, I probably would have tried to work it out together because we have two small children, but there was no hesitation on my part because I knew ultimately, once I had time to think about it, I realized, I think this is probably going to be the best thing for us."

PK deciding that the two of them should split up came just after Dorit Kemsley shared at The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 13 reunion that she was "better than ever," a statement that really has fans raising some eyebrows looking back on it now.

But according to Dorit Kemsley, there's more to her claim than it seemed.

"Things were great between him and I and it was the first time that they were that good in a while so I had high hopes and when things are really bad and then things become good, that is better than ever, which is how I described it," she explained on the podcast and went on to say that after PK had been sober for a few months, the two of them realized that his drinking was far from the only problem in their marriage and that they had other things that needed work between the two of them.

PK encouraged Dorit Kemsley to return for The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 14

Making the decision to return for the current season of RHOBH while in the midst of a divorce couldn't have been an easy one for Dorit Kemsley, but she shared on the podcast that it was actually PK who encouraged her to jump back into the show.

Dorit and PK are far from the only housewives to have gone through divorce, but that doesn't mean that the split happening on TV each week is easy, as Dorit Kemsley already knows from her co-star and frenemy Kyle Richards' public split from her own husband, Mauricio Umansky.

According to Dorit, it was actually PK's idea for her to go back to the show and film the current season while going through their divorce. There were rumors earlier in 2024 that she had stepped back from being a full-time cast member, Dorit confirmed that she was planning to be less present on the show but eventually backed down from that at PK's urging.

"But if I had to guess, it was more about him not wanting to have the responsibility of having to . It almost gave him more freedom, financially and other," she told the podcast and said the fact that PK looking out for her is one of the things she "still" loves about him, despite their separation.

She shared that she felt like she had "unfinished business" and made the decision to come back for another season of the show. It may be that same "unfinished business" that keeps Dorit from finalizing her divorce from PK.

She shared on the podcast that the two of them aren't currently moving toward making their divorce official, but that she has no idea what the future holds for them. She said, "I can’t say there isn’t a chance because we’re not getting a divorce right now but I don’t know. I think there’s always a chance for anything."