Dorit Kemsley calls Kyle Richards' behavior 'hurtful' amid feud
Is Dorit Kemsley ready to say, "Goodbye, Kyle?"
The "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star, 48, calls out castmate Kyle Richards' "hurtful" behavior while chatting with Page Six's "Virtual Reali-Tea" about the evolution of their feud in the new season of the Bravo show.
"The only problem is that for Kyle and I, she hadn't been somebody that I could lean on for a sustained period of time," Kemsley says. "And that was the issue. So going into this season, there was a lot of stuff that was left unsaid."
The fashion guru — who has appeared on "RHOBH" since 2016's Season 7 — says she hoped to lean on Richards, 55, during the early stages of her separation from estranged husband Paul "PK" Kemsley but was not able to.
"I really felt like I reached a point in my life where I had just separated from my husband after being together for 13 years, no idea where that was going," says Dorit, who announced their split in May after nine years of marriage.
"I felt like I reached a point where I want to be around friends of mine that I'm calling my friends, my true friends, my good friends, people that I would move heaven and earth for, that it's reciprocated, that's real," she elaborates.
"And I had felt like — for a sustained period of time, for a good couple of years — there was a fracture in mine and Kyle's friendship that felt very disingenuous."
Dorit and Richards reached a breaking point in their dynamic as cameras rolled for "RHOBH" Season 14. In a trailer for the forthcoming installment, the women are seen clashing — and even engaging in a heated screaming match .
"What more do you f–king want from me?" Richards shouts at her co-star across the table during a group scene shown in the sneak peek.
The remark seems to infuriate Dorit, who leans in closer to Richards' face and retorts, "I want you to stop f–king raising your voice to me!"
Though things took a volatile turn during production, Richards recently told "Virtual Reali-Tea" that she and Dorit ended the season in a better place than where they started.
"Our relationship is not like it was, so, I mean, I think that's going to take time," the "Halloween" actress said. "And I felt like it was getting better, I did. I was happy."
However, as Richards explained, the "hard" experience of reliving her conflict with Dorit when the unscripted series airs has the potential to upend any progress.
"You see things they say, and it just kicks up all those feelings again," she noted. "That's why it's so hard to maintain your friendships in reality television. It's really hard. But I know I'm trying."
Dorit, for her part, says she is still figuring out whether she and Richards ever had an authentic connection. Before Season 14 began filming, the latter Bravolebrity insisted during an Amazon Live segment that the former exaggerated the ladies' level of closeness.
"I really needed to understand, has our friendship taken a turn? Is it different? I need to reevaluate this friendship. Are the feelings mutual? Some of the things that were said publicly were very hurtful, and it was our friendship that was on blast," Dorit reflects.
"So I wasn't prepared to go into this season or go into another year with Kyle without sitting in front of her and saying, 'You know what? It's time to put it on the table. Let's be real, let's be open, let's be honest.'"
Should the relationship conclude entirely, Dorit says she is emotionally prepared.
"If we're not friends and we're not going to be, that's fine. I'm OK with that," she states. "But I don't want to pretend like we are when none of the behaviors are supporting a good friendship."
"The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" Season 14 premieres Tuesday, Nov. 19, at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo and will begin streaming on Peacock the next day.
