Kyle Richards is the last survivor of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, but her claim to the crown may be starting to show. After her feud with Lisa Vanderpump came to an end, she took the reins of RHOBH and led the group with a carefree demeanor. However, when she intervened in the Sutton Strake and Diane Jenkins feud and ridiculed Erica Jane’s disrespect for Garcel Beauvau’s sons, she showed a darker side. It seemed that there were only rules of conduct for certain RHOBH women.
Kyle’s cheeky side shouldn’t shock longtime fans too much. She eventually cured her sister Kim Richards of alcoholism at the end of the first season of RHOBH. Kyle acts like he wants everyone to get along, but no one survives on RHOBH that long without being a little power-hungry. Kyle’s husband Mauricio Umanski is touted as the hottest homemaker in recent decades, which has led to a solidified status of an influential couple, but the couple may not be as untouchable as they think.
Kyle’s reputation as a martyr is coming to an end. Sutton was trying to contact Diana, who had recently lost a baby, when Kyle inserted herself, dismissing Sutton’s claim that she had had two miscarriages as fake news. Sutton said, “I’m sorry, this is very personal.” Kyle replied: “I love you, but it sounds like shit.” Sutton rejected Kyle’s bizarre attempts to refute her truth, saying, “You’re acting really weird right now.” Kyle claimed she was being honest and was surprised she hadn’t heard about it before, while Sutton admitted she was trying to reach Diana on a human level. When Sutton became disillusioned with Diana again, Kyle aggressively grabbed Sutton and turned to her.
When the women rephrased the problem behind the pasta, Kyle tried to confirm her involvement in the story of Sutton’s “strange behavior”. In fact, Kyle’s behavior at that moment was called strange. Frankly, Sutton is quirky, like all RHOBH women, and trying to reject everything she says on the grounds that she’s weird is exhausting. Kyle thought it was possible to question Sutton’s experience, physically grab her, and then disparagingly and aggressively apologize without letting Sutton speak. At lunch, Kyle said, “It’s really hard to apologize to you. You just don’t shut up.” If another housewife, especially a woman of color, had demonstrated the same behavior, the results would have been different.
When Kyle and Mauricio laughed at Erica’s abuse of Garcel’s sons, things got even worse. Erica told Garcel’s 14-year-old son Jax to “fuck off” after he approached the coffee table next to her to pick up flowers. It happened a few seconds after Erica inappropriately offered Garcel’s eldest son, Oliver Saunders, a threesome with his wife. Kyle’s appeal to Sutton, combined with her rejection of Erica’s behavior, speaks to her point of view that she and her longtime colleagues on the set have the right to behave as they please. Meanwhile, the vile disrespect of Sutton and Garcel testifies to a blatant superiority complex.
At her best, Kyle is a peacemaker on her mother’s side, who likes to throw the splits and laugh at how her husband “takes part” at the right time. At worst, Kyle is confused about the status of RHOBH. While puppy Gate may not have earned Kyle’s reputation as a mean girl, her actions towards Sutton and Garcel certainly did. Some ego checking and apologies are definitely necessary for Kyle to get back to her best self.
