Andy Cohen Reveals Kim Richards’ Rehab Was Paid for By Bravo

Kim Richards’ personal struggles were a main storyline in the early seasons of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”

After her sister, Kyle Richards, outed her as an alcoholic during a shocking argument in a limo that aired during the season 1 finale, the former Disney star spiraled even further over the next several years despite multiple rehab stints.

According to Us Weekly, after Richards’ sister revealed her alcoholism on camera in 2011, she went to rehab, then relapsed and was arrested two times in 2015.

At the time, an insider told Radar Online that Richards suffered a relapse after leaving rehab to attend her daughter’s wedding, which took place not long after she was arrested and charged with public intoxication and trespassing at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 2015. Later that year, Richards was arrested for shoplifting, and she checked into yet another treatment facility, per The Daily Mail.

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Andy Cohen Says Bravo Paid For Richards’ Rehab Stay

In the new Housewives tell-all book, “Not All Diamonds and Rosé,” Bravo host Andy Cohen revealed that producers stepped in after Richards’ downward spiral began in season 2 and it was obvious she was in trouble.

“When it was clear that it was a real problem, we wanted to be responsible and we didn’t want to put her in a situation where anything could be exacerbated,”  revealed in the book. “We considered her family and wanted to work with her to get her better. Bravo paid for her rehab.”

RHOBH producer Chris Cullen added that Richards repeatedly returned  to the reality show because she wanted to show her sobriety, but that she continued to “fall off the wagon.” She stepped down as a full-time Housewife after five seasons.

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Bravo Aired Kim Richards’ First Post-Rehab Interview

Richards talked about her battle with addiction during the RHOBH season 2 reunion, where she sat down for a one on one interview with Cohen and admitted publicly for the first time, “I’m an alcoholic.”

According to TV Guide, ahead of her on-camera admission, Richards had blamed her behavior on her use of prescription medications including the anti-anxiety medication Lexapro and the antidepressant Trazadone.

During the segment, Bravo also aired some of Richards’ most concerning scenes from the season, one in which she was seen drinking and rummaging through trash. The RHOBH star also revealed that she couldn’t bring herself to watch herself on TV because she was so embarrassed by her messy behavior.

“I couldn’t watch the show,” Richards admitted, per LA Weekly. “Once I saw that [erratic] behavior coming out of myself, because I was so disappointed in my choice. In what I’d done.”

While she was embarrassed by some of her behavior that was captured on camera, at BravoCon 2019, Richards revealed that she was “very glad” that she was able to share her sobriety journey on TV.

“There were a lot of people that were going through similar struggles that I’m so glad reached out and that I could help,” she said, per Us Weekly.

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