Dorit Kemsley Nearly Quit The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Before Season 14 but 'Had Unfinished Business'

Dorit Kemsley is more unfiltered than ever on this season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, as she confronts both her separation to husband Paul "PK" Kemsley and her fractured friendship with pal Kyle Richards head-on.

But Bravo viewers nearly didn't see either of those storylines. Prior to cameras picking up on season 14, Dorit, 48, told producers she wouldn't be returning.

The reality star recalled the story to RHOBH executive producer Alex Baskin during a sit-down on Bravo's Hot Mic podcast. According to Dorit, she had told Baskin she wasn't going to come back, but changed her mind about 24 hours later.

"I remember PK saying something to me like, 'Well you have to do it,' " Dorit recalls. "And when I heard him say, 'You have to do it,' it was wanting to take back that control. Like, 'Oh no no no no no. This is going to be my decision. I'm the one who is doing it.' So I said, 'Well you know what? I'm not.' "

So why did Dorit change her tune?

"I thought I felt comfortable about that decision. But when I had that period of time, it enabled me, without any pressure, [to think about it]," Dorit said. "And it felt like I was leaving too soon. That I had unfinished business. I had too much I needed to say. I didn't leave the impression that I wanted to leave, really of who I am."

"That's when I called you and I said, 'Let's talk,' " she told Baskin.

Dorit also checked in with another friend for advice during that time: former costar Lisa Rinna.

"She was one of the only people that I opened up to about not wanting to come back or being undecided," Dorit shared. "And she said to me, 'Dorit, if you're going to do it, then do it. No holds barred. Guns blazing. You go in and you do it. Be yourself, don't hold back.' And that stuck with me."

All of this was happening before Dorit and PK announced their separation after nine years of marriage. But as viewers saw in the first episode, that bombshell broke before the first all-cast event.

The timing prompted Baskin to wonder why PJ was so supportive of Dorit's return, especially knowing she would be forced to talk about their marital issues on camera.

"I would suspect that he foresaw that there would either be a separation and that we were heading in that direction and this allowed me to have financial independence or something of my own," Dorit said. "I do think also a large part of it, if I had to guess, was more about him maybe not wanting to have the responsibility of having to [take care of me]. It almost gave him more freedom. More opportunity, more possibilities — financially and other."

"I will say that about PK. He's always been supportive like that," she added. "There are a lot of things that I still love about him, and the reasons why I married him. And he's got some good qualities. Just... a lot more bad qualities."

Dorit — who shares Jagger, 10, and Phoenix, 8, with PK — joined RHOBH for 2016 in season 7.

Since then, the television personality has been candid about the highs and lows of her personal life, getting vulnerable in 2021 about suffering a home invasion where she was robbed at gunpoint. In season 13 of RHOBH, she not only delved deeper into the PTSD she developed as a result of the invasion, but also how its aftermath had affected her relationship to the English businessman.

Should Dorit had left, she would have exited alongside fellow Beverly Hills Housewives Crystal Kung Minkoff and Annemarie Wiley, who also departed last season.

In addition to Dorit and Richards, season 14 of RHOBH also stars Erika Girardi, Garcelle Beauvais, Sutton Stracke and new Housewife Bozoma "Boz" Saint John.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo, and can be streamed the following day on Peacock. Bravo's Hot Mic podcast is free to listen to on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and the video edition is available by signing up to be a Bravo Insider.