Kyle Richards revealed why she decided to return to “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” for season 14.
During a panel at Bravo’s Fan Fest in Miami, the RHOBH OG admitted that she almost didn’t come back after 14 years on the show. But it was her separation from Mauricio Umansky and his subsequent move out of their family home that finally spawned her decision to return.
“I almost didn’t come back this season but it’s a big part of my life,” Richards said in a clip posted on Bravo TV’s Instagram. “You know, I started the show when [my youngest daughter] Portia was in diapers… and now we’re going to be touring colleges in the spring. It’s a big part of my life and we really are a family, so it would have been another loss for me.”
“And I was scared to have things be so quiet for me, especially with Mau and Alexia out of the house, I thought, ‘Wow my life’s gonna get real quiet. I don’t think I can handle that, so…” she added.
Richards went back and forth about returning to RHOBH up until the last minute. During a Q&A with fans on Amazon Live in March 2024, a viewer asked when she would decide if she would return to the Housewives for season 14. “I guess until I have no choice and have to make that decision,” Richards replied. “And it’s probably going to be a last-minute one. I’m going to take every minute I need to think about that.”
Kyle Richards Said It Was Hard to Film in Her Quiet House
Richards filmed RHOBH season 14 with only her daughters Portia and Sophia still living in the family’s Encino home.
According to BravoTV.com, she had many difficult moments during filming. “It was a very emotional season,” she said at Bravo Fan Fest. “I had come home from Coachella and [Mauricio] had moved out on that Sunday and I had not realized. And Alexia [Umansky] had moved out a couple of weeks before and, all of a sudden, my house felt very quiet…
“It was very hard for me,” she added. “It was really sad, it was a very big adjustment. And to go shoot with the women and have that chaos going on, too, in my life, I felt very fragile. So, I was very emotional.”
Kyle Richards Walked Off Set During Filming
Richards had a full-on meltdown during filming, as seen in the season 14 trailer. In one teaser, the mom of four stormed off set and shouted, “I am done with this [expletive]! I’m done! I’m not doing this anymore!”
Richards told Page Six’s “Virtual Reali-Tea” that while she never once called out sick or walked off in 14 years, she reached a breaking point during filming.
“I had my doubts going back into it,” she said of her return to the Bravo reality show. “I just felt like I was honestly, I just didn’t feel strong enough to be shooting at that time where I was at mentally, so that was hard.”
In November 2024, Richards told Us Weekly she wasn’t herself during filming, and had been looking for support from her cast mates. “I regret walking out that day,” she admitted. “I regret not being in a stronger place and just holding my head high and saying what I needed from them instead of crumbling.”
At Bravo Fan Fest, Richards admitted she’s unsure about returning for a 15th season of RHOBH next year. “I don’t know the future right now,” Richards said. “But I’m very grateful to Bravo and the people I work with because it’s done amazing things for me and opened a lot of doors for me,” she said. “It’s been obviously very emotional for me at times and very difficult, but overall, a great experience.”
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RHOBH Star Explains Why She Really Returned For Season 14