Kyle Richards and Mauricio Umansky celebrated 21 years of marriage in January. With their multiple reality TV commitments, booming businesses, supporting each other’s endeavors, four children, and five dogs, you wonder how the two find time for themselves, much less one another. However, if you witness them together you’ll quickly learn they are best friends and that making time for each other may not be one of their easiest jobs, but it’s a job they are happy to do. Their leisure of choice? Chill time on the sofa together. The after hours of the lives of the rich and famous are more mellow than you may have thought.
It was a rainy day in Los Angeles when I was greeted by one of Kyle’s dogs, Romeo, at the front door when I arrived. Their house has a homey yet lavish vibe, each room incredibly unique, and family photos are spread throughout. A fireplace was lit in at least three of the rooms downstairs accompanying woodsy scented candles. Portia, their youngest daughter, was still in school, only the sound of “Access Hollywood” on the TV in the background was to be heard. With such a peaceful setting inside this home in the hills, it’s hard to imagine just how packed Kyle and Mauricio’s lives are outside of this haven.
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Take Kyle, for instance. Before the crew even got to her home for this photo shoot, she had to get her youngest daughter off to school and clean off four muddy dogs who had a blast digging for a gopher in the rainy yard. By the time she came downstairs, all glammed up, you’d have no idea what her morning entailed. She was relaxed, smiling, and ready to play dress-up for the camera. Though she isn’t camera shy, considering she began her career as a child actor and has been on seven seasons of “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” (RHOBH), and most recently, “The New Celebrity Apprentice.” “When [RHOBH] initially approached me, I didn’t know what to expect,” Kyle says. “But I just thought of it as sort of an adventure because I didn’t have a plan for it.” Though her family has been through a lot the last seven years, and it’s been documented for the world to see, she still manages to have a good time. When asked if the show feels like work or fun, she answers, “Both. But I still have fun filming though, or I could never keep doing this. When we travel on the girls’ trips it’s crazy and chaos. But you don’t always see that it’s also so fun because we’re
laughing and staying up all night talking. And I love it because I didn’t have that since I got married and had a baby so young.” The show has opened up numerous business ventures for her, like her book, “Life Is Not a Reality Show.” And this led her to meet her current business partner for her boutique, Kyle by Alene Too, who she met at one of her book signings. She has opened six stores in Los Angeles, Florida, and New York since. While she would get creative when going through her sisters’ closets to create cool looks as a kid, she wouldn’t consider herself a lifelong fashionista. It wasn’t until her four daughters that fashion became a large influence for her. “My girls love that I have the store—forget anything else I’ve ever done,” she jokes. “They’re like, ‘Mom, you have to always keep the store!’” Her girls are very fashion-forward. For instance, when Portia came home from school during the photo shoot, she caught Kyle touching up her makeup in between looks and asked, “Mom are you contouring? You’re using the wrong brush!” Even the eight-year-old keeps Kyle in check! Nowadays, Kyle has taken out an entire bedroom and turned it into a closet for her beloved handbags and shoes. I’d say this tree-climbing tomboy has come a long way! #ClosetGoals, am I right? One of her newest ventures hits closest to her heart. “The greatest thing that has come out of the housewives is the scripted show I’m producing now,” she says. “It allows me to do something completely different, but in a field that I know so well and allows me to be creative and come up with ideas.” “American Woman,” is a dramedy that will premiere on TV Land that is inspired by her life as a child in the ‘70s. “I’m really excited about producing. I’m involved in every aspect of the show. It’s so fun, and I’m learning from the best of the best with John Wells Productions. I could not have better mentors,” she says.