ET learned on Jul. 3, 2023 that Richards and Umansky had separated.
The Bravoverse was shocked when news broke on July 3, 2023, that Kyle Richards and Mauricio Umansky decided to separate after 27 tears of marriage.
A source close to the pair told People that the Buying Beverly Hills real estate agent and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star "have been separated for a while now but are still living under the same roof. They remain amicable as they figure out what’s next for them and their family."
They addressed the situation shortly thereafter, denying they were getting divorced, but admitting that they'd had a "rough year" in their marriage.
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 they appeared to be happily in love, celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary in 2021, rumors began swirling online, signaling trouble in paradise -- something they both denied. From their first meeting in the early '90s to their surprising fallout, let's take a look at the pair's 27-year-marriage and where they stand now.
Love at first sight
1994
Richards and Umansky were just 23 and 24 years old when they met in 1994 at a nightclub called Bar One in West Hollywood (now Bootsy Bellows). According to Bravo, Richards was engaged to TV News Anchor Michael Tuck when she met Umansky. Despite the entanglement, the pair were smitten with each other and the relationship blossomed quickly.
Richards was already a mom to daughter Farrah, from her first marriage, and Umansky was proving he was up for the role of stepdad. Richards too showed her commitment by converting to Judaism at Umansky's request.
"And a few months into dating he had asked me if I would consider converting to Judaism. Growing up in Los Angeles, Bel-Air where I lived, all of my friends are Jewish. So it was really a no-brainer for me," Richards told The Knot. "I used to look at the Jewish families and think, 'Aw, they're all married and they have these great family dinners together.' I loved that whole life. I used to wear a Jewish star when I was a kid and pretend I was Jewish, so I was like, 'Yes, I'll convert' So then I just had to wait for the ring."
The couple got engaged that same year, with Umansky proposing with a rosebud-shaped ring box hidden in a bouquet of flowers. He even gave Farrah an "engagement ring" with a heart and two hands holding it.
Marriage and a family
1996
Richards and Umansky would go on to tie the knot on January 20, 1996. The wedding was originally supposed to be in April, but the couple moved it to January after learning Richards was pregnant with Alexia. According to The Knot, Farrah, who was 7 years old at the time, was a flower girl in the wedding along with Richards' sister Kim's daughters, Whitney and Brooke. Sister Kathy Hilton's daughter Nicky was also a flower girl, while her sister Paris served as a junior bridesmaid
"I would not change one thing. It was just filled with fun and love and it was just amazing. I wouldn't change one thing about it today," Richards told the outlet, with Umansky adding, "I wouldn't change anything. I mean, if we were going to do it today and have a vow renewal, I would do it a lot smaller."
Alexia was born shortly after in June of 1996, just six months after the wedding. The couple would go on to welcome daughter Sophia in January 2000, and their youngest, Portia, in March 2008.
Taking their love to TV: Housewives, Netflix and more
2010
Richards was introduced as part of the original Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast in fall of 2010, alongside her sister Kim, Taylor Armstrong, Camille Grammer, Adrienne Maloof and Lisa Vanderpump. The Bravo reality show also introduced Richards' family, including Umansky and their daughters, in the premiere episode.
The couple's relationship is immediately taken to task in the first season in a episode titled, "The Dinner Party From Hell." Richards is told Umansky 'will never emotionally fulfill her in the season one shocker. Allison DuBois, whose experiences inspired the TV show Medium, told Richards that Umansky would "never emotionally fulfill" her "ever" when the reality star asked her for a reading.
"He will never emotionally fulfill you, but you will stay with him, and he will take care of you. And as soon as the kids are bigger, you'll have nothing in common," DuBois continued.
Dubois would go on to respond to news of the couple's separation on social media, writing, "My phone is blowing up from reporters now that Kyle and Mauricio have separated. So, here’s my comment 'I don’t wish Kyle ill, I hope she finds what she’s looking for. I guess I’m the only one who 'saw' this coming. People kept telling me I was picking up on Camille’s divorce NOT Kyle (Okay, you arm chair psychics can sit down now).' Mic drop #housewives #housewivesofbeverlyhills #medium."
2011
In 2011, Umansky leaves his position at Hilton & Hyland to start his own real estate firm called The Agency with partners Billy Rose and Blair Chang.
"I think the current real estate brokerage model is broken," Umansky wrote on The Agency's website at launch, according to Curbed. "What you have now is a bunch of mini-companies all competing with one another under one brokerage roof. At The Agency, we're creating a culture where agents collaborate in partnership and are proud of what their colleagues are doing, rather than looking for ways to stab them in the back. In essence, we are a family who all struggle, celebrate and have fun together."
2013
After three years on television, Umansky assured fans that the couple's relationship was as authentic as the reality TV cameras portrayed it to be.
"We're the same, with or without cameras. We're just super real and we know each other and we're real," Umansky told People in March 2013. What's more, is he said that he and Richards were never worried about secrets in their marriage leaking out once they signed on for RHOBH because they had nothing to hide.
We don't have any secrets to hide," he added. "That's one thing we talked about, the skeletons in the closet, and we can handle our worst skeletons."
2017
Richards and Umansky appeared together on the cover of Locale magazine's February 2017 issue. Richards shared an image of herself and Umansky hand-in-hand at their front door that was taken during the photo shoot on her Instagram feed.
That same year, the couple's Encino, California home is burglarized, with over $1 million in jewelry and handbags stolen from the home while the family vacationed in Aspen, Colorado, over the New Year.
Prior to the burglary, ET sat down with Richards where she talked about her move to Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley and how she fell in love with her new home.
"I was renovating my house, because I couldn't find a house that I fell in love with," she told ET at the time. "And I saw this house -- it was actually one of my husband's listings -- and I said to him, 'I want to go look at this house to look at their floors,' 'cause I was redoing my floors at the time and he said, 'Oh, I'll go with you.'"
"We went into this house and I went, 'Oh my gosh,'" she continued. "I was completely blown away, because it's not like anything you would see in Los Angeles, normally. I just fell in love, and my husband did, too."
2020
Richards revealed she did a risqué photoshoot for her husband prior to joining RHOBH. Sharing the photo as part of the viral Women Supporting Women Instagram challenge, Richards shared that she was as nervous about taking it as she was to join Housewives.
"I struggled to post a photo because I didn't understand what's so "challenging" about posting a black and white photo of ourselves. But so many of the wonderful women in my life messaged me "challenging" me ( I tagged them) So I decided to post this picture. About this picture...I took this picture for my husband for Valentine's Day one year. I was nervous to take it and then when I was asked to do #RHOBH I was nervous to accept doing the show because I was worried this photo would surface," she wrote at the time. "I thought it was THAT risqué!! How scandalous! 🙈😂 Now here I am posting it because it DOES make me feel empowered! I am proud to come from a family of all women , fortunate to be surrounded by such amazing women in my life and to be the mother of 4 incredible women and soon to be woman ( Portia) Thank you to all the women that support me & love me. I love, support & appreciate you 🙏❤️#challengeaccepted."
2021
In January 2021, Richards and Umansky celebrate 25 years of marriage. Speaking to Bravo Insider about the marriage milestone, Richards said, "It means so much, and it's something that we're both incredibly proud of. 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."
Later that year, Umansky revealed that he and Richards had no interest in renewing their vows.
"We've actually talked about it a couple of times, but we don't want to mess with a good thing," Umansky told ET in November 2021. "We've been super lucky, and why change the energy that we have around us? It's been really good energy."
"Whatever we did worked and we don't want to mess with a good thing," Richards added. So we're happy with that. We will have plenty of other things to celebrate in life. So we're good."
2022
In June 2022, Umansky and his daughters announce their new Netflix reality series. Titled Buying Beverly Hills, the real estate show sees Umansky and daughters Farrah and Alexia at the forefront. The show follows Umansky's real estate firm, The Agency, where Farrah and Alexia both work, as they navigate the world of luxury real state in Los Angeles. It premiered in November 2022, with Richards making a cameo in a season one episode.
The show has since been renewed for a second season.
While all appeared happy in their marriage and family, the couple were slammed with affair rumors that August when Richards' castmate, Dorit Kemsley, was accused of having an affair with Umansky.
After a Photoshopped movie poster of Kemsley and Umansky with the words, "An Affair to Remember" written on it, surfaced on a Bravo blogger's page, the RHOBH star immediately slammed the rumors and the blogger for posting it.
"If this is the only way you can make a buck then so be it but at least have some decency and stop trying to peddle false narratives especially when you know there is ZERO truth behind it and your whole motive is to just hurt people for no reason," Kemsley wrote.
The beginning of the end
2023
The pair were showing each other love as recently as January of 2023, with the real estate mogul calling Richards his "queen" on her 54th birthday.
"Happy Birthday to my Queen the love of my life. You bring life, love, happiness to all our lives and to everyone around you. Thank you for all our years and all our future years," Umansky captioned the Jan. 11 post. "You get better and better. I Love you ❤️ I couldn’t do it without you. XOXO."
But the love didn't last. Two months later the couple found themselves shutting down rumors of trouble in their marriage. Richards told ET in March 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."
"I used to get so upset about these things. I don't even care. I'm not losing any sleep over it," she added.
Umansky shared a similar sentiment while appearing on Teddi Mellencamp and Tamra Judge's podcast, Two T's In a Pod, in April after Richards was photographed without her wedding ring.
"We're not getting divorced," Umansky insisted. "I mean, it's so dumb. That one stupid story that came out there, and then the girls all, you know, decided to talk about it on the Housewives, and so now it's a storyline."
Umansky also said that he and Richards would be addressing the rumors on the upcoming 13th season of RHOBH, which does not have a premiere date.
Three months after that, the world learned that the couple made the decision to separate after 27 years of marriage.
A source close to the pair told People that while the news broke July 3, "Kyle and Mauricio have been separated for a while now."
The source said the pair are stilling living together and "remain amicable as they figure out what’s next for them and their family."
Shortly thereafter, the pair spoke out in a joint statement on Instagram, writing, "In regards to the news that came out about us today... Any claims regarding us divorcing are untrue."
"However, yes, we have had a rough year. The most challenging one of our marriage. But we both love and respect each other tremendously. There has been no wrongdoing on anyone's part," they wrote. "Although we are in the public eye, we ask to be able to work through our issues privately. 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."
RELATED CONTENT:
