Kyle Richards and ‘Buying Beverly Hills’ star Mauricio Umansky separated last summer after nearly three decades of marriage.
Kathy Hilton admits it’s “very scary” and even “heartbreaking” to watch sister Kyle Richards and husband Mauricio Umansky’s marriage end after nearly three decades.
Kathy and her daughter, Nicky Hilton, spoke to ET’s Brice Sander at their Ruggable x The Hiltons Collection launch and shared how the family has rallied around Kyle amid her separation from the Buying Beverly Hills star after 28 years of marriage. The news rocked the reality TV circuit and beyond, given Kyle and Mau’s marriage was looked upon as the standard for its longevity and ability to thrive in the face of adversity, fame and fortune.
But with the separation continuing to play out on multiple shows (Kyle’s The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and Mauricio’s hit Netflix series) it’s all taken a toll on Kyle, who in February actually pondered to ET that she’d be OK with leaving the storied Bravo franchise. However, she’s now set to return for the upcoming 14th season.
Apart from Kyle, Mauricio and their close-knit family, no one knows the pain Kyle’s going through quite like her sister, Kathy, who has made it a mission to be there for her in every way possible.
“You know, there’s good days for Kyle and then there’s tough days,” Kathy tells ET. “And I am there talking to her every day, several times, and I wanna be there for her. It’s very scary after almost 28 years. She’s been married her whole life. And the four children. It doesn’t matter what age. It’s heartbreaking.”
Kyle, 55, and Mauricio, 53, met in 1994. By then, Kyle had divorced her first husband, Guraish Aldjufrie, with whom she shares daughter Farrah Brittany, 35. The same year they met, Kyle and Mauricio got engaged and they tied the knot in January 1996. They share three daughters: Alexia, 27, Sophia, 24, and Portia, 16.
Kathy has provided Kyle comfort for all to see, like during the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 13 reunion, when she joined her sister onstage and held her hand as Kyle made the difficult choice to speak out about the separation.
Kathy tells ET she was asked to be at the reunion and she jumped at the chance “to be a fly on the wall.” But more than that, she wanted to be there for Kyle, knowing it would be a difficult day.
“I wanted to be there and just hold her hand,” Kathy shares. “I wanted to be there and be supportive. It was great to see all the girls again.”
Kathy, along with actress Jennifer Tilly, are cast in in the upcoming season 14 as “friend of” members, and daughter Nicky’s ecstatic about it for a couple of reasons.
“You know what, she’s having fun and she’s with her sister,” Nicky shares. “And I think she likes the flexibility of hopping in and out. She doesn’t work for anyone. She’s never gonna be a full-time gal.”
Kathy also confirmed to ET she will not be a permanent Housewife.
These days, the mother-daughter duo find themselves enjoying the fruit of their labor: a collaboration with Ruggable following an 18-month process “that combines the Hiltons’ lavish and tasteful eye for design with the livable functionality of Ruggable rugs.”
“We were involved every step of the way,” Kathy says. “And this is actually the longest process of any company that we’ve ever worked on. This took like 18 months.”
Adds Nicky, “My mom and I have very, very similar aesthetic and taste, so we were really aligned on the designs. We wanted them to be classic, beautiful, modern, elegant, sophisticated and timeless.”