Kyle Richards' sister and friend are coming to her and Mauricio Umansky's defense.
Kyle Richards’ sister, Kathy Hilton, and her good friend, Bethenny Frankel, are weighing in on the reality star's separation from her husband, Mauricio Umansky.
One day after ET learned that the Buying Beverly Hills real estate agent and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star had separated after 27 years of marriage, Hilton took to Instagram and shared a quote originally posted by The Law of Attraction.
"My mom once told me, 'Once you are matured, you will realize that silence is more powerful than proving your point.' And I felt that," the quote read.
Last month, Richards and Hilton made up after being on bad terms for a while. Hilton apologized to Richards at the high-end Western wear store, Kemo Sabe, in Aspen, Colorado, during their niece, Whitney Davis', wedding, and it was caught on camera.
"I'm sorry. It wasn't your fault. It was not your fault," the 64-year-old mother to Paris and Nicky Hilton said in an Instagram Story shared by Kyle's eldest daughter, Farrah Aldjufrie.
Kyle looks stunned and yells, "Get the video! Get the video!"
Richards’ good friend, Frankel, also weighed in on the separation, posting a TikTok video commending the couple.
@bethennyfrankel Replying to @Sophie You asked for my opinion… relationships are hard. I think theirs has been a complete success no matter what chapter comes next. #teamkyleandmauricio #rhobh #realhousewives #kylerichards #mauricioumansky #kyleandmauricio #relationships #marriage ♬ original sound - Bethenny Frankel
"Kyle and Mauricio have been together three decades," Frankel, 52, told her followers. "They have had a remarkable relationship, a partnership, a family."
"What an accomplishment to be together for that long regardless of what they decide to do with their lives now," she continued.
Frankel is upset with "really cheap" social media users "break[ing] it down to something scandalous" and explained, "It's honestly so admirable and something to be respected and cherished that a couple would be together for three decades. I'm Team Kyle and Mauricio together, apart and happy or whatever they choose to do with their beautiful family."
On Wednesday, the duo issued a joint statement to clarify reports that they had separated.
"In regards to the news that came out about us today... Any claims regarding us divorcing are untrue," Richards and Umansky explained on Instagram. "However, yes, we have had a rough year. The most challenging one of our marriage."
Even so, the pair wrote that they "both love and respect each other tremendously," and added that "there has been no wrongdoing on anyone's part."
"Although we are in the public eye, we ask to be able to work through our issues privately," they concluded. "While it may be entertaining to speculate, please do not create false stories to fit a further salacious narrative. Thank you for the love and support."
Richards, 54, and Umansky, 53, met back in 1994. At the time, Richards was divorced from first husband Guraish Aldjufrie, with whom she shares daughter Farrah Brittany, 34.
The pair would go on to get engaged later that year before tying the knot in January 1996. They share three daughters: Alexia, 27, Sophia, 23, and Portia, 15.
Viewers were first introduced to the couple back in 2010, when RHOBH began airing on Bravo. Richards has since become a mainstay on the popular reality TV show, appearing on its last 12 seasons, with their marriage playing out on the show.
While their relationship often found its way into a storyline on the series, they always appeared to put up a united front on camera, and in 2021, they celebrated their milestone 25th wedding anniversary.
"It means so much, and it's something that we're both incredibly proud of," Richards told Bravo Insider that year. "And for me, it's one of my biggest accomplishments. I mean, I think it's refreshing. In this town, to be married 25 years is a really big deal [laughs]. And we're really proud to be good role models to our daughters."
"Yeah, I mean, this means a lot," Umansky added. "You know, to be quite honest, it feels easy and doesn't feel like it's been that long. So it's been great and beautiful. And, you know, I definitely intend to spend the rest of my life with her. So hopefully it'll be at least another 25 years, and maybe another 50."
Richards shut down rumors about her marriage back in March, telling ET that she wasn't "losing any sleep" over internet rumblings over the status of her relationship with Umansky.
"The analyzing of everything is so -- we were just talking about that in the car. I'm seen out at the gym without a ring on, or the rumors about weight loss," Richards said. "I just -- I can't keep up anymore, and I was just telling Dorit [Kemsley] in the car ride over, that I don't even care anymore."
She continued, "I used to get so upset about these things. I don't even care. I'm not losing any sleep over it."
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