Kyle Richards was “terrified” to have a “difficult” conversation about her evolving sexuality with her daughters — but the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star breathed a sigh of relief when she was met with ample support.
“It was the most difficult conversation I’ve ever had with my children and I was terrified to have that conversation. I just wanted to be as honest as I possibly could,” she tells Page Six’s “Virtual Reali-Tea” of opening up to Farrah, 36, Alexia, 28, Sophia, 24, and Portia, 16.
“There were stories out there about me and … this did make me wonder, you know, and question myself.”
As Richards, 55, explains in the upcoming Season 14 premiere of “RHOBH,” she began questioning her sexuality as speculation about the state of her relationship with Morgan Wade ran rampant online and in the media.
Kyle Richards tells Page Six’s “Virtual Reali-Tea” that she was “terrified” to open up about her evolving sexuality to her four daughters.
Portia Umansky, Alexia Umansky, Sophia Umansky, Farrah Brittany and Kyle Richards
“I really never thought like this before. This is not the way I was raised. That’s not the way my mind even operated,” she says of her mental state before turning to her kids.
“And all of a sudden I was thinking like that and I wanted to be as honest with them as possible because they are my best friends.”
Richards also wanted to make it clear to Farrah (whom she shares with ex-husband Guraish Aldjufrie) and Alexia, Sophia and Portia (whom she shares with estranged husband Mauricio Umansky) that they should never feel ashamed of engaging in a sensitive discussion themselves.
“I like to lead by example and I thought, ‘You know, if this is what I’m going through and feeling, I want them to always feel comfortable enough to share with me the hardest conversations and know that they’ll be accepted no matter what,’” the mom of four says.
Richards began questioning her sexuality as the status of her relationship with Morgan Wade was debated online and in the media.
To “lead by example,” the Bravolebrity emphasizes that it was important to be honest with her girls.
Richards marvels at her children’s immediate embrace of her newfound fluidity.
“Having that conversation, their reaction and response to me, I thought, ‘Wow, I mean, I’m just so impressed by these four women in front of me,’” says the “Halloween” actress. “And I thought, ‘Maybe, just maybe, I did do a good job’ — because that was my most proud moment as a mom, just seeing how they all reacted.”
Months later, Richards says she and her girls feel comfortable enough to even make jokes about the situation — a level of levity she appreciates after filming a “hard” season of “RHOBH” punctuated by her first-ever walk-off from a scene and a particularly heated rift with formerly close pal Dorit Kemsley.
Mauricio Umansky snd Kyle Richards
“For me, to have their support — regardless of what happens in my life — means the world to me. They just want me to be happy. After we got past that difficult part of the conversation, the jokes that have ensued!” she tells “Virtual Reali-Tea” with a laugh, gushing over the ladies’ mother-daughter dynamic.
“I have been teased by some of them, too, which is fine. But it’s been great and it’s been actually amazing for our relationship, too.”
As for her relationship with Wade, Richards says she has taken a step back from spending so much time with the 29-year-old country singer.
Kyle Richards and Morgan Wade via Instagram
The Season 14 cast of "RHOBH"
“I think she just didn’t want any part of anything to do with my role [on] reality television and all that came with it,” says the Bravolebrity, who has appeared on “RHOBH” since its 2010 inception.
“And, you know, the paparazzi and all that was very overwhelming. So I understood that and respected that … I am an open book, but I cannot speak to other people’s lives of experiences when they have not signed up to do this and don’t want to be a part of this … I think anybody would be overwhelmed in that situation.”
Season 14 of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” premieres Tuesday, Nov. 19, at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo and will begin streaming on Peacock the next day.
