Kyle Richards has mixed feelings about her estranged husband Mauricio Umansky’s explanation for why he and Emma Slater were caught holding hands.
The “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star, 54, said Saturday on the “Two Ts in a Pod” podcast from BravoCon 2023 that she feels “undecided” about the situation.
“But listen, we are separated,” she told her pal Teddi Mellencamp, who hosts the podcast alongside Tamra Judge. “So, we’re allowed to do what we want.”
“It’s just, you know, strange to see. I don’t know,” the Bravolebrity added, seemingly struggling to accurately describe her emotions.
“We were married almost 28 years. So, that’s hard to see.”
Pictures of Umansky, 53, and Slater, 34, holding hands in Los Angeles first surfaced on Oct. 23.
The dance partners then addressed the romance speculation via an Instagram Story on Oct. 26.
“We do want to address this story, this whole thing, going out and about whether or not Emma and I are dating — whether we went out on a date,” they began. “For full clarity, we are not dating.”
Umansky and Slater claimed their daily rehearsal schedule allowed them to become super close over a six-week period and that they have a “special bond.”
The real estate mogul then directly addressed the hand-holding photos, saying they were taken after they grabbed sushi together.
“When we came out of dinner, we were recapping and I reached out to grab Emma’s hand, and she grabbed my hand, and we, you know, walked to the cars just recapping and summarizing and then the paparazzi caught that moment. It’s become a blown-out moment,” he claimed.
Richards admitted days later on “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” that she was “taken aback” by the photos.
“That’s very hard to see … that hurt my feelings,” she said on the Bravo talk show at the time.
Andy Cohen asked whether she felt there might be a spark between the dance partners, and Richards replied that there could be.
“I just don’t think you hold hands like that [if you’re friends],” she theorized.
Richards, who has repeatedly denied rumors that she’s dating singer Morgan Wade, also said on “Two Ts in a Pod” why her circumstance is different than her estranged husband’s situation.
“I’ve seen people say, ‘Oh, but you’ve been running around with your friend.’ First of all … there’s no weird pictures of me with anybody on the internet at all,” she bluntly stated.
Richards then confirmed she encouraged her ex to compete on “Dancing With the Stars,” but said Umansky’s chemistry with Slater isn’t “easy” for her to see.
“I really wanted him to do well and I voted for them every week, and you know, I was very supportive,” she explained. “With that said, it’s a lot, you know, it really is.”
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Richards said even though she and Umansky are “allowed to do what [they] each want to do,” she opined that they should keep it “under wraps.”
Umansky confirmed on Sept. 29 he and Richards decided to separate after months of breakup rumors.
However, he exclusively told Pvnew just days later that their love story is not completely over.
“We’re struggling. We’ve been very open about it,” the Agency founder noted. “We’re separated, [but] we’re not throwing in the towel yet.”
