Heavy/ABC "Dancing with the Stars" ballroom.
Kyle Richards said she has been offered a spot on “Dancing With the Stars” many times, but has repeatedly turned the offer down.
The “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star opened up during a fan Q&A on Amazon Live on March 19, 2024, after she was asked if she’d ever consider joining the celebrity dancing show.
“I have been asked numerous times and I have said no every time,” Richards, 55, shared with her fans. “So that’s where I’m at. Would I one day? I mean, I don’t know. But, listen. It’s a great show for all the people on it and who make it. I know people love it. It’s just not for me.”
Over the years, several Real Housewives stars have competed in the “Dancing With the Stars” ballroom. Some of the past contestants include fellow “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” stars Lisa Rinna, Lisa Vanderpump, and Erika Jayne, “Real Housewives of Atlanta” alumni Nene Leakes, Kim Fields, Kim Zolciak-Biermann and Kenya Moore, and “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star Teresa Giudice.
In addition, Richards’ husband Mauricio Umansky was a contestant on DWTS season 32, placing ninth with pro dancer Emma Slater. Umansky was cast on the show weeks after he and Richards confirmed they had separated after 27 years of marriage.
Mauricio Umansky Said Kyle Richards Was Invited to Join DWTS For Season 32
After Umansky was announced as a cast member on DWTS, he revealed his estranged wife was also given an invite. Speaking with “Access Hollywood,” Umansky said, “Kyle, you know, was asked to do it but she just doesn’t think that she can dance.”
According to TMZ, Umansky, Richards, and Richards’ close friend Morgan Wade were all offered spots on DWTS season 32 simultaneously. But Richards and Wade both reportedly turned the opportunity down.
Richards previously told Heather McDonald’s “Juicy Scoop” podcast that DWTS was not her thing. “I think it’s great when other people do it, but it’s not for me,” the Bravo star said in 2017, according to Reality Tea. “Doing it with someone and having to follow moves, I’m very ADD and I would be very stressed and overwhelmed thinking I would have to do this live and on camera with people watching,” she added.
Kyle Richards Would Have Never Allowed Mauricio Umansky to Join ‘Dancing With the Stars’ If They Weren’t Separated
Heavy/ABC/NBCUniversalMauricio Umansky and Emma Slater; Kyle Richards
Richards also spoke out about Umansky’s partnership with pro dancer Emma Slater on DWTS. She admitted their steamy dances wouldn’t have worked for her if she and Umansky were still a couple.
During the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” season 13 reunion, Richards’ sister Kathy Hilton said “there is no way in hell that Kyle would’ve okay-ed” Umansky joining “Dancing with the Stars” if it hadn’t been for the separation.
“The thing is, if our marriage was in the place it used to be, I would never had said yes,” Richards agreed. “But I was like, ‘Okay.’”
She admitted she would have been jealous of her husband’s steamy dances with his partner if they were still together.
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