Does Sutton Stracke believe that Kyle Richards and Mauricio Umansky are faking their separation?
During a couple of new interviews, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member, 52, refused to deny Kyle, 55, and Mauricio, 53, split for “clicks” as she revealed if she misses Lisa Rinna, 60, on the show, and offered an update on her co-parenting relationship with ex-husband Christian Stracke, who recently relocated to London.
While appearing on Us Weekly’s latest episode of Housewives Happy Hour, Sutton was asked a series of questions about Kyle, starting with whether or not she felt it was “unfair” that the cast questioned Kyle’s lifestyle changes, which included a very close friendship with Morgan Wade, 29. However, Sutton didn’t want to answer the question and chose to sip her wine instead.
Sutton also took a drink when asked if she thought Kyle and Mauricio separated for “clicks” and storylines.
As fans may have seen, Vanderpump Rules alum Jax Taylor, 44, insinuated that Kyle and Mauricio staged a breakup for publicity on his podcast, When Reality Hits With Jax & Brittany, earlier this month.
“Everybody does things for clicks. People will ruin their marriages for clicks. I mean, look at what’s going on with Housewives,” Jax stated. “Now they are saying that Kyle and Mauricio were just doing the breakup for clout. For clicks. They are doing that.”
When asked if she agreed with Jax, Sutton looked away, took a drink, and muttered, “Mhmm.”
Sutton then said that while she doesn’t “miss” Lisa on RHOBH because “dynamics changed and … we had fun,” she does miss her in real life.
“I’m a bit indifferent, but I do miss her,” she shared.
As for Christian’s move across the pond, Sutton confirmed it negatively impacted their co-parenting relationship.
“He moved in June [2023], and it’s been difficult,” Sutton told Us Weekly. “We [co-parent] very well together, but it’s hard to [co-parent] with someone that’s in England and I’m in California, so it’s like, the time [difference] is really far.”
Sutton and Christian were married from 2000 to 2016 and share three children, including daughter Porter, 21, and sons Philip, 20, and James, 17. And while their two oldest kids are out of state attending college, James has remained in California, where he’s currently attending high school.
“I have my son with me all the time. Every time I turn around, he’s there, he’s there. I’m like, ‘Oh, there’s James,’” Sutton revealed. “And meanwhile, [this is] a very big part of my life where I’m busy and working.”
“I was used to week-on, week-off, week-on, week-off, and that’s how I developed my schedule, [but] I can’t do that anymore,” she continued. “This month of January has been really busy with work, and I had to tell [James], ‘Look, January is going to be crazy, and then it’s going to calm down,’ and he understands that we have to work together, the two of us.”
Because of their increased time together, Sutton and James have “gotten really close.”
“Closer than you would think a mother and a teenage boy would get,” she laughed. “I always call us the ‘odd couple.’ I make dinner, we eat, we watch our show [and] we talk, we hang out together. And so, in a way, it’s this very strange blessing that Christian gave me [when he moved], because I get James, my son, with me all the time, so thank you, Christian.”
As for her kids’ reaction to RHOBH, Sutton said they don’t enjoy watching.
“The first season we watched because it was COVID, so we didn’t have anything else to watch. So they’re like, ‘Let’s watch Mommy on TV.’ And now I think my daughter watches it and she’s a senior in college now. My middle son is over it, and James has never watched it,” she said. “This season I’ve been a bit more risqué, [like at] that dinner from hell, [I] whipped out [a] joint and I told them that I did this, and then I talked to them about smoking marijuana and [asked], ‘Do you?’ and I said, ‘Don’t.’ So, I got to have conversations with them because I did that.”
Looking back on the production of RHOBH season 13, Sutton said she had fun times with her castmates.
“We had a night where just [Erika Jayne], [Garcelle Beauvais], and I [were filming, and we] had the best time,” Sutton revealed. “The three of us just relaxed, and I think we all three were surprised at how much fun we had together. We kept saying, ‘We have to do this again off camera because we have a lot in common.’”
According to Sutton, she gets along well with Garcelle, 57, and Erika, 52, because they’re all divorced single mothers and all “kind of pretty funny.”
“They make fun of me, which is fine, but we like to talk about all kinds of different topics and [we’re] really smart businesswomen, and so it was a really good trio,” Sutton admitted.
Also in season 13, Sutton was seen getting back into the dating game.
“I’m talking more about my own sexuality and things like that,” Sutton shared. “My daughter and I have had conversations about it. So [the show] has allowed me to get closer to them.”
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 13 airs on Wednesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.