Heavy/Getty/NBCUniversal Mauricio Umansky and Kyle Richards./
Fans think Kyle Richards leaked the story of her separation from Mauricio Umansky to the press last summer.
In July 2023, an unidentified source told People magazine that the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” couple, who married in 1996, “have been separated for a while now” but were “still living under the same roof.”
Richards and Umansky appeared blindsided by the leaked story. They rushed to release a joint statement to confirm they had “the most challenging year” of their marriage, but also to reiterate that there was “no wrongdoing on anyone’s part.”
But as footage from the days after the separation aired on the RHOBH finale, coupled with Richards’ post-show appearance on “Watch What Happens Live,” some fans alleged it’s “obvious” Richards leaked her own story.
Fans Reacted to Kyle’s Demeanor on ‘Watch What Happens Live’
Richards was a guest on “Watch What Happens Live” on February 21, 2024, the same night the RHOBH season 13 finale aired. At one point, host Andy Cohen shared a viewer poll. “There was a lot of speculation about this one,” he said. “Who do you think planted the story about Kyle and Mauricio’s marriage Kyle, Mauricio, or someone else? Everyone was speculating at the end of the episode who it was. What do you think ?”
Richards appeared distracted as she replied, “No, I don’t know. I really don’t know, I really don’t. Mo had some ideas and he was really upset about it.”
“I was too,” she quickly added.
“I have no idea …I mean someone, it’s like someone hears something, they tell a friend, they tell a friend it’s like that…” she said
In Cohen’s WWHL poll, 37 percent of voters felt Richards leaked the story.
On social media, many others agreed. In the comment section to WWHL’s video, one commenter wrote, “Kyle planted it. Or she used someone like Faye[Resnick] to do that.”
“Kyle planted that story. It’s painfully obvious #wwhl #RHOBH,” another wrote on X.
“Of course Kyle planted the story,” another agreed.
“I’m not a Kyle hater at all, but I think that SHE wanted to be open about the end of their marriage and Mo did not. I think that was an actual issue between the two of them almost a year ago, so all this speculation about who leaked it to the press a year later doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. It was Kyle herself, and it’s ok,” another wrote.
Heavy has reached out to Richards for comment.
The RHOBH Cast Speculated on Who Leaked the Story
PeacockRHOBH star reacted to Kyle Richards’ separation news.
On the RHOBH season 13 finale “Soirees and Separations,” Richards’ castmates reacted to the separation news. “Did the People magazine exclusive come from Kyle as a way to get ahead of what everybody else is saying about her?” speculated co-star Annemarie Wiley.
In another segment, Sutton Stracke speculated during a Facetime call with Garcelle Beauvais. “I think Kyle was lying to us this whole time,” Stracke said. ”This is sus. The whole thing.”
In a confessional, Richards addressed the aftermath of the separation leak. “When the People magazine article came out, I was with Mo and the girls and all of our phones just started blowing up,” she said. “Mo was really focused on who gave the story and I was more focused on how it was affecting all of us.”
“Things have been a lot more uncomfortable with me and Mo ever since the article came out, I think because it made it just so much more real,” she added.
After the episode aired, RHOBH co-star Dorit Kemsley spoke out on the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Aftershow”. “I think Mo thinks that it was someone in Kyle’s camp,” she said.
Stracke agreed that the source was someone in the former couple’s “camp.” “I think it’s either Kyle or Mauricio,” she said. “Or both of them. If you put it out there first then you can control it. Then you can deny it all you want.”
Umansky has denied that he or Richards leaked the story to the press. “We did not plant the story,” he told TMZ in September. “As a matter of fact, at the time that the story came out from People.com, Kyle and I were not separated.”
He added, “If it’s somebody in our camp that works for us, they deserve to get fired. If it’s a friend of mine, they are no longer my friend.”
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