Kyle Richards’ love life has been under the microscope for years: After rumors about her marriage were first thrown around in season 1 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, she and husband Maurico Umansky separated in 2023. But the 55-year-old’s sexuality has also become a hot topic after she was spotted spending a lot of time with country singer Morgan Wade.
“I have never, ever questioned my sexuality in my life, ever,” she told cameras during the RHOBH season 14 premiere. “But I think all of the crazy speculation actually did make me think twice.”
Of course, the actress’ sexuality is a personal topic and she doesn’t owe the public an explanation. But during the episode, she broke down recalling how she discussed the topic with her children. Here’s what she’s shared.
She first opened up about her sexuality during the season 13 reunion.
The speculation started after she played Morgan’s love interest in the “Fall in Love With Me” music video. But Kyle said during the season 13 reunion that she was not in a relationship with Morgan.
“I mean, I love her and she’s my friend and I love her,” she said.
In fact, Kyle said she was surprised by how the music video went down. “I didn’t really know the creative behind it until I got there,” she said. “I said to the director, ‘I’ve never actually kissed anyone on-camera, let alone a woman—or off-camera.’ I was very nervous and anxious, but if I’m being honest with myself, I was obviously curious in order to say yes.”
Kyle said that she said yes to the music video “for a reason,” adding, “You know what? She’s hot. What can I say?”
“I’m evolving, I’m changing,” she added. “I’m clearly going through some evolution of my own and I don’t know what the future holds.”
She didn’t ‘question’ her sexual orientation until recently.
Kyle didn’t question her sexuality until all of the speculation started about her relationship with Morgan, she shared in a recent interview.
“It actually felt good for me to be honest about that and it isn’t something that I’ve never thought about or questioned my life until this last couple years,” Kyle told E! News, referring to the season 13 reunion. “That was very confusing for me and I kept telling people, ‘Can you just give me time to figure things out? I’m learning things about myself.'”
She discussed the rumors with her children.
Kyle ended up talking to her daughters—Farrah, 36, Alexia, 28, Sophia, 24, and Portia, 16— about everything. “I had to say to them, ‘This is something that I have been confronted with now, so I want you to know that, because it’s out there,'” she told E! News. “Part of it being out there is what made me look at that and see things with the different lens.”
During the premiere, Kyle broke down in tears recalling the conversation. “I didn’t want them to be embarrassed by me. I didn’t want them to be angry with me. I didn’t want them to think sharing that with them or sharing my feelings, that they would think less of me,” she said.
But Portia ended up telling her, “There’s nothing you could ever say that would make us love you less.” Kyle said it was her “most proud moment, as a mom.”
She has denied dating country singer Morgan Wade.
Despite all the speculation, Kyle has reaffirmed that she’s not dating Morgan. (Morgan has said the same.)
“What’s hard is that I can only speak on my behalf,” Kyle told Us Weekly. “I’m not here to speak on anyone’s behalf but my own, especially someone who’s not signed up to do this show and doesn’t want to be spoken about on the show. So that puts me in a very different position.”
In the future, Kyle won’t talk about her friendship with Morgan on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
“What I do address is about me, personally, and my journey and what I’m going through and where I am at and just not addressing her in particular, because it is just not fair,” she said.
Korin Miller is a freelance writer specializing in general wellness, sexual health and relationships, and lifestyle trends, with work appearing in Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Self, Glamour, and more. She has a master’s degree from American University, lives by the beach, and hopes to own a teacup pig and taco truck one day.
