Mauricio Umansky revealed if he believes the “reality curse” led to his separation from Kyle Richards while appearing on Bravo’s podcast on Tuesday.
Nearly two years after he and Kyle, 55, announced they were taking time off from their marriage, the 54-year-old Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star and cast member of the recently canceled Buying Beverly Hills opened up about their breakup, how reality television impacts relationships, the tabloids, and more.
“I have witnessed multiple marriages come and go, we’ve had divorces, we’ve had all kinds of different things … and I can tell you that my perspective is that’s not what happened between Kyle and I,” Mauricio confirmed on the December 24 episode of Bravo’s Hot Mic podcast.
Although Mauricio doesn’t believe that he and Kyle fell victim to the reality curse, he does feel that it can happen to couples on television and went on to describe how reality tv can destroy marriages.
“Couples, when they watch themselves, end up reflecting, and they actually see what their real relationship is like. They believe and they go to bed with a perception of their own relationship that is different, that once they watch it and they’re confronted and then they reflect and they see it from a different point of view, they’re like, ‘Holy sh*t. That’s what my relationship is?’ And then they start becoming conscious of that, and once you become conscious of that, it now becomes part of the reality and you start witnessing that,” he explained.
According to Mauricio, he believes that relationships are challenging due to the many changes that each party goes through as they grow.
“We all change. Relationships change. Relationships, marriages are difficult with or without the show. Why? Because people change. You meet somebody when you’re 24 years old and when you’re 34, you’re a different person,” he noted.
Because Kyle and Mauricio appeared to be a solid couple for over a decade on RHOBH, many have hoped to see them reconcile. But of that, Mauricio said he feels no pressure.
“I really do ignore the tabloids and I really do ignore the people,” he admitted.
Although Mauricio said it’s “kind of nice” to see fans shipping him and Kyle, they’re currently nothing more than “best friends.”
“We’re so lucky to have the relationship we have. We’ve yet to file for divorce. We were married for 28 years, 29 years, together for 30 years. Through circumstances, I think we just needed time, a separation, and neither she or I have talked about anything at this point, in terms of reconciliation,” he revealed. “I think we’re both just allowing time to pass. Everything will just happen naturally .. however it’s meant to be.”
That said, Mauricio acknowledged that the more time goes by, the less chances he and Kyle have at getting back together.
“The longer you’re apart, the harder it is. But we also have a lot of forces that continuously bring us together,” he reasoned, citing the children they share, including Alexia Umansky, 28, Sophia Umansky, 24, and Portia Umansky, 16.
Also during the podcast appearance, Mauricio was asked if he felt RHOBH changed his now-estranged wife.
“I think Kyle is extremely grounded and down to earth and I don’t think that the show has gotten to her, the fame, the money, at all,” he confirmed. “I think that she is the exact same person that she was before the show, before we both made money. I don’t think it has changed her at all.”
He then revealed if Kyle ever asked him to keep his mouth shut about certain topics on the show.
“I think Kyle, for the most part, has allowed me to just, usually, say what I want to say, I mean, there’s been certain occasions where she’s come in and just like, ‘Hey, here’s a heads up, here’s what’s going on with the girls.’ Because, I mean, from our perspective, we don’t always know what’s going on with all the girls. So sometimes we just need to have a little bit of a background on it so I know what I’m saying,” he shared.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 14 airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.
