Getty Morgan Wade and Kyle Richards.
Morgan Wade revealed that her friendship with Kyle Richards hit a low point when rumors began to swirl that the two were in a romantic relationship.
The singer, 28, befriended “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star, 54, in early 2022, but rumors that they were more than friends hit a fever pitch in July 2023 when Richards and her husband Mauricio Umansky announced they were separating.
In an August 2023 interview with The New York Times, Wade, who has lived a sober lifestyle for five years, admitted that she became so distraught over rumors about her personal life that she feared she would relapse.
Here’s what you need to know:
Morgan Wade Said She Almost Proactively Checked Herself into Rehab Due to the Unwanted Attention Over Her Friendship With Kyle Richards
Wade has said that she is a private person. While speaking with 103.5 Kiss FM in August 2023, she spoke out about the media attention she has received over her unlikely friendship with the RHOBH star.
“It’s been a lot,” Wade said. “It’s weird, it’s strange. I’m like, ‘Just leave me alone.’”
“I’m not used to that at all,” she added of seeing tabloid stories about herself online. “I’m not a reality television star. I like to be left alone and write music.”
But when her friendship with Richards thrust her into the spotlight, everything was analyzed – from the duo’s matching heart tattoos to the rings they wore to the timing of Richards’ split from her husband of 27 years.
As the rumors intensified, Wade told the New York Times that she hid away with family, spent several days in bed, and skipped going to the gym as she feared she would relapse.
“I seriously thought I was going to have to go to a rehab just preventively, to keep me from doing something stupid,” Wade admitted.
Wade especially took issue with her sexuality “being discussed online by random people” that don’t know anything about her. “I’m just a private person,” she said. “I’ve always been just kind of quiet. And so when all this kind of came out, I was just, it felt like everything had been stripped from me.’
Wade also addressed the relationship rumors while speaking with the Los Angeles Times in August 2023. “They’re just making [stuff] up,” she said of tabloid rumors. “Some of this stuff is so damn far-fetched that I’ve had to laugh about it. I’m a real … person. And I haven’t really been treated like that.”
Morgan Wade & Kyle Richards Clapped Back at the Rumors With a Cheeky Music Video
In response to the rumors about their relationship, Wade and Richards teamed up to star in the music video for Wade’s song “Fall in Love With Me.”
The video features the two women flirting, taking a bath together, and feeding strawberries to each other. It ends with Wade giving the camera a sly wink.
In a preview clip shared on Instagram, Wade explained that the fact that people think something is going on between her and Richards spawned the video response.
“If you get on the internet, you’ll see people are obsessed with us being friends,” she said. “So, we kind of thought it would be a good idea to poke fun at that, kind of troll the trolls a little bit.”
On Instagram, Wade described the video as “campy and fun,” then added that it is “also important and representative of all kinds of love, even in the country space, in any space. ….Love is love is love.”
Wade’s manager Mary Sparr told the L.A. Times that even before Wade’s friendship with Richards began making headlines, the idea for the video had been in the works.
“We were interested in putting a same-sex couple in it from the beginning, but had not even considered Kyle,” Sparr said. “I guess you could argue that there are eyes on her because of it, but most of her fan base has no interest in it.”
“The tabloid stuff is the least interesting stuff about her,” she added.
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