Kyle Richards was “taken aback” by Mauricio Umansky‘s claims that she encouraged him to date other people early on in their separation. According to the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, their conversation didn’t exactly go the way he portrayed it in the sneak peek for the second season of his Netflix series Buying Beverly Hills.
During Wednesday night’s (Feb. 21) live taping of Watch What Happens Live — which followed the RHOBH Season 13 finale — host Andy Cohen asked Richards for her thoughts on the heartbreaking preview in which Umansky has an emotional conversation with their daughters about the current state of his relationship with their mother.
“People are upset that Mauricio put everything out there about your marriage on his Netflix show and that you were guarded on this show. What’s your reaction to that?” Cohen asked.
While the Halloween star said she hadn’t “seen any of those comments” on social media, she admitted that she was “a little taken aback” by her estranged husband’s claims.
“He said something like I encouraged him to go and date [other people]. It wasn’t encouraged,” Richards clarified. “It was — I’d rather say that, if we’re going to be separated, that way I don’t have to feel hurt. That’s easier to say than be blindsided.”
In the Buying Beverly Hills clip, which dropped earlier this week, Umansky opens up to his daughters Farrah, Alexia and Sophia about his separation from Richards.
“Your mom came to me and she talked to me and she said, ‘I need space,'” he explains. “She said to me, ‘The rules are you go out, you date, you do whatever it is you want to do. I’m not going to be asking you what you’re doing, I don’t want you to be asking me what I’m doing. Like we are separated.'”
The real estate agent’s candid confession ultimately brings his daughters to tears, while Sophia emotionally adds, “We only found out there [were] any issues just a few months ago and now it’s just like things change so quickly.”
Richards and Umansky were married for 27 years before they announced their separation in late 2023. While their relationship has hit choppy waters, both have yet to confirm whether or not they will legally divorce.
Watch What Happens Live airs Sunday through Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on Bravo. New episodes are available to stream the next day on Peacock.