Heavy/Getty Kyle Richards and Mauricio Umansky
“The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Kyle Richards held a Celebration of Life event for her late friend Lorene in the show’s January 10 episode, and one cast member noticeably absent from the event was Richards’ husband, Mauricio Umansky.
Fans and friends of Richards alike shared their confusion over Umansky’s absence from the event (he was out of town, according to Richards), with one Twitter user writing, “mauricio showing up to homeless not toothless [gala in the January 17 episode] but not kyle’s event feels disrespectful on so many levels. so you’ll show up to dorit’s event but not your wife’s.”
Sutton Stracke even called him out in the January 17 episode, saying in a confessional, “I’m not accepting the excuse that Mau is giving. Unless you are in the hospital or dead in a ditch, you show up for your wife and your wife’s dead best friend’s family.”
In the RHOBH After Show from January 17, Richards recounted her husband’s absence from the event and defended his reason for not making it. Hear what she had to say below.
Kyle Richards Says Mauricio Umansky Did Nothing Wrong
Richards explained in the After Show why her husband couldn’t make her event, and why she didn’t question his absence on camera. She said, “The date that we chose coincided with something that he already organized and our schedules lately have not been in sync, so you know it’s been hard enough as it is. I didn’t want to hear about that, and I didn’t want him to feel bad hearing that on camera. It genuinely was not his fault at all.”
Despite reports of her and Umansky’s separation, Richards persisted that, “He would have been there for [Lorene] and for me, but I had to choose this date for a certain reason. And he already had something on the books for a long time for The Agency that he couldn’t change, so that’s the kind of stuff where I’m like ‘Okay great, now it’s going to look like Mau didn’t show up to support you.'”
“It’s an impossible situation,” Richards’ co-star Erika Jayne added.
Richards’ co-star Stracke wasn’t as quick to forgive, as she doubled down in the After Show, telling Garcelle Beauvais, “This is a huge red flag for me. You planned this. You know how many dates before there are, so your husband can plan to be there.”
Kyle Richards Scores ‘People’s Choice’ Nomination
Richards celebrated her 55th birthday on January 11, the same day the nominees were revealed for the 2024 People’s Choice Awards.
“This was a nice birthday gift 💝 Thank you @peopleschoice for the Reality TV Star Of The Year nomination. As well as the nomination for Reality TV Show Of The year nomination for RHOBH . I’m honored & grateful 🙏 Voting starts today,” Richards captioned an Instagram post from the day where she revealed she had received a personal nomination, as well as one for the show.
Voting is open through January 19, with the winners being revealed at the awards ceremony on Sunday, February 18 at 8 p.m. Eastern on NBC, Peacock, and E!.
READ NEXT: Kathy Hilton Prepares for Musical Debut