Does being on reality TV put a strain on marriages? Has being on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills changed Kyle Richards? While appearing on Bravo's Hot Mic podcast, Mauricio Umansky spoke up about all these topics and more and shared whether or not he thinks there's a chance at reconciliation for him and Kyle.
Does Mauricio Umansky think reality TV is to blame for his separation from Kyle Richards?
Despite the name of the franchise, season 14 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills features a full cast of single women with the entire cast being divorced, separated, or widowed. Some Bravo fans have even pointed out how unusual it is that so many of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills stars have gotten divorced after appearing on the show, but does Mauricio Umansky blame the curse for his split from Kyle Richards?
"I have witnessed multiple marriages come and go, we've had divorces, we've had all kinds of different things … I can tell you that my perspective is that's not what happened between Kyle and I," Mauricio Umansky said on the December 24, 2024 episode of Bravo's Hot Mic podcast.
According to Mauricio Umansky, he doesn't think that the pressure of being on TV is what causes couples to break up, but that being able to see their relationship through new eyes each week on TV is does. Mauricio Umansky said that he thinks that seeing themselves on TV can let couples see issues in their relationship they were blind to before and that can be what causes so many reality TV divorces.
On the podcast, he said, "Couples, when they watch themselves, end up reflecting, and they actually see what their real relationship is like. They believe and they go to bed with a perception of their own relationship that is different, that once they watch it and they're confronted and then they reflect and they see it from a different point of view, they're like, 'Holy s--t. That's what my relationship is?'"
Has being on RHOBH changed Kyle Richards? Here's what Mauricio Umansky thinks
Kyle Richards has been on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills since the very start and comes from a very famous family with her and her two sisters, fellow RHOBH alums Kathy Hilton and Kim Richards, being child actresses before they got into reality TV.
But does her ex-husband think that being on the Bravo show has changed her?
"I think Kyle is extremely grounded and down to earth and I don’t think that the show has gotten to her, the fame, the money, at all," Mauricio Umansky said on the podcast.
He went on to say that he thinks his ex-wife is the same person that she was when the two of them met, before they each made their big money on reality TV and in real estate, and that he doesn't think being on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills has changed her.
Will Kyle Richards and Mauricio Umansky be getting back together?
Kyle Richards and Mauricio Umansky announced that the two of them were separated in the summer of 2023, but they haven't made their breakup official with a divorce just yet, despite the rumors that the pair have moved on with new people. The two of them no longer live together, but have been spotted out together and they still co-parent the daughters they share, but does that mean that they might be getting back together in the future?
According to Mauricio Umansky, the two of them are just letting their split happen naturally and that they're not rushing to anything, whether that means filing for divorce or deciding to get back together.
For now, though, he says that the two of them are just good friends and aren't planning to try their marriage again.
"We're so lucky to have the relationship we have. We've yet to file for divorce. We were married for 28 years, 29 years, together for 30 years. Through circumstances, I think we just needed time, a separation, and neither she or I have talked about anything at this point, in terms of reconciliation," Mauricio Umansky said on the podcast.
But, since it's been over a year and a half since the two of them announced they were separated, it seems like trying to make their marriage work again might be out of the question.
"The longer you're apart, the harder it is. But we also have a lot of forces that continuously bring us together," Mauricio Umansky said on the podcast episode, referring to the fact that the two of them have daughters they share that they regularly come back together as a family to be with.