Kyle Richards and her Real Housewives of Beverly Hills costars were reeling after news of her separation from husband Mauricio Umansky became public.
On the season finale of the hit Bravo series, —which was filmed early last July amid the aftermath of PEOPLE exclusively confirming the couple’s separation — Richards’ costars Dorit Kemsley, Annemarie Wiley, Crystal Kung Minkoff and Sutton Stracke reacted to the shocking news.
During a FaceTime with her husband Paul “PK” Kemsley, the 47-year-old Beverly Beach designer shared, “Kyle never, ever gave an indication that they were separating” which PK called “pretty f—ed up.”
Sutton, 52, noted that “this didn’t happen overnight and the truth is, we’ve always known about problems in her marriage leading up to this,” before she listed off the hints that the pair would go their separate ways. She then added, “I think that Kyle was lying to us the whole time. … This is suss. The whole thing.”
After the couple issued a joint statement about their separation on social media, the Halloween Ends actress, 55, reflected on how each member of the family was coping one day in light of the separation becoming public.
“When the PEOPLE magazine article came out, I was with Mo and the girls and all of our phones just started blowing up,” she recalled. “Mo was really focused on who gave the story and I was more focused on how it was affecting all of us. I saw Alexia start to cry. We got in the car, all of us, and it was this weird … like, nobody knew what to do or say.”
“It just felt like my whole life was over in that moment. The life as I knew it,” she added, getting choked up.
Following the news, Erika Girardi apologized to Kyle for not being “the most observant of friends” but Kyle shared that there wasn’t “anything to observe because we’ve been dealing with things privately.”
“I think the hardest part about what we’re going through is that there isn’t one big huge thing. That’s the hardest part for me,” she admitted. “There’s these things that I’ve been needing and wanting more for my marriage that I just can’t get. And, since that article came out, I’m seeing, you know, ‘Oh, it’s obviously because Mo cheated’ or ‘Now, Kyle has cheated.'”
When Erika asked “what is the truth with that,” Kyle shared, “There’s literally nothing to do with anybody else. This is really just about Mo and me. It’s not about our family, it’s not about external family, it’s not about another person on his side or my side. This is just about Mo and me.”
Kyle added that her husband always wanted to keep up appearances despite their recent marital struggles.
“I think that he’s more like the person that likes to pretend that every is OK. … When we first met, we were really opposites,” she explained. “Complete opposites, and that worked. You know, I always would joke that if it wasn’t for me, he’d be dead, because I keep him safe.”
She continued, “And if it wasn’t for him, I would never take chances in life. And that worked. Also, like, we always grew because we’ve been together since our early 20s…. It is really admirable and it’s always been something I’m very proud of.
But, she said through tears: “I’m not proud right now, because it’s a letdown for me, for him, for the kids, for people who don’t even know us.”
One week later, Kyle and Mauricio were still grappling with the impact of their separation going public after 27 years of marriage.
“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 shared. “I feel like my kids have basically lived a fairy tale but then, I felt like the article coming out, they thought that the rug had been pulled out from underneath of them because things are worse than we led on to be.”
The pair decided it was time to “clear up” what was going on with their daughters. Kyle told the girls, “I think the most important thing is just for you guys to know we haven’t told you guys everything because we tried to protect you. And then, all of a sudden, you get blindsided by this public news and then you don’t know about it, it’s probably difficult.”
She added, “I just wanted to make sure that we were open and that you guys knew what we were going through and see if there’s any questions. I do want you guys to know that we haven’t talked about a divorce.”
However, Kyle later admitted that she doesn’t have much hope for a future between her and the Buying Beverly Hills star, sharing in a confessional, “I’ve come to realize that, you know, there’s a big chance that we’re not gonna end up together.”
When asked what happened by a producer, Kyle responded, “There were things that happened that made me lose my trust and I wasn’t able to recover from…. I just want to be at peace wherever I’m at because I haven’t really had that. Am I done? It’s over.” She began to cry.
The episode concluded with a title card revealing that, though Kyle had “reconciled” with her sister Kathy Hilton,”Kyle and Mauricio continue to live their lives separately.”
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.