“Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” newbie Annemarie Wiley compares co-star Sutton Stracke to “Jekyll and Hyde” as she defends her pal Kyle Richards.
“It’s almost like two steps forward, one step back with Sutton,” Wiley says while appearing on Pvnew’s “Virtual Reali-Tea” podcast.
“You think you’re kind of getting to a good place and then she kind of brings out the talons and she kind of does a 180 and this whole Jekyll and Hyde situation starts happening,” Wiley — whose own clashes with Stracke over medical concerns incited a feud branded “Esopha-gate” by viewers — adds.
Earlier this season, Richards, 54, and Stracke, 52, butted heads during a contentious cast trip to Las Vegas.
In Sin City, Stracke found herself at odds with multiple “RHOBH” ladies — including Richards and Erika Jayne, each of whom where unsettled by her acute vexation over a racy dance display at a Magic Mike show.
The drama followed Stracke and Richards back to the 90210, where they had it out during a weed-filled dinner. Following a tense one-on-one discussion, Stracke pressed Richards about the state of her marriage to husband Mauricio Umansky in front of the group.
She has also questioned the “Halloween” actress’ newly adopted passion for fitness and sobriety in confessionals.
Such queries have perturbed Wiley, who entered the Bravo-verse via Richards, a friend and neighbor.
“It was hard because coming into this group of ladies, my first time meeting everybody at the dinner at Kyle’s house and there’s body-shaming, there’s fit-shaming, there’s sober-shaming,” she reflects.
“So, I’m seeing my friend who has brought me into this group of ladies be bombarded and attacked about making healthy lifestyle choices.”
The Project Transition co-founder — who shares four children with her husband, former NFL pro Marcellus Wiley — says that Stracke’s remarks were particularly “triggering” because of her own dedication to fitness as a lifelong athlete.
“I started running track when I was five. I played basketball all through college,” Wiley, 40, explains.
“So for me growing up, it was really about having a strong mind, a strong body, being fit and then to see this .. obsession with being thin … and then for that to be weaponized against Kyle for really trying to be fit and healthy, that was a lot for me to actually process at the beginning.”
During BravoCon 2023 in November, Richards told Pvnew that she felt Stracke was merely “trying to be dramatic or get attention from viewers” by sparring with her. Though the women are currently on a friendship hiatus, Richards said that it is likely only temporary.
“I would not say it’s permanent. I’m someone who gets over things fast. I don’t only forgive, I also forget but to my detriment. So I have to protect myself a little right now,” said the “Beverly Hills” OG, who announced her separation from Umasnky, 53, in July after nearly three decades of marriage.
“She made a choice to say certain things in her interviews and to talk about my marriage, which was affecting my children and my family.”
Annemarie, for her part, feels Stracke “likes to play the detective,” but isn’t sure if the Sutton Brands founder is comfortable opening up about her own life.
“One thing with Sutton is she really likes to play the detective. She likes to ask the questions of others, but she’s not very forthcoming when it comes to answering questions about her life,” she says.
“And so I think that’s where, especially ‘Esopha-gate’ for us, became a lot bigger than it needed to be.”
Stracke — who suffers from a strictured esophagus — previously told the cast that the health issue made it difficult for her to eat. Wiley, a nurse anesthetist, was confounded by this revelation.
Though the women seem to disagree on whether a narrow esophagus is a diagnosis or symptom, Wiley apologizes for her “facetious” reaction to Stracke’s disclosure.
“Let me just start by saying [sorry] to anyone and everyone that was hurt, offended with me saying my facetious remark: ‘Oh, if you have a stricture, you just chew your food,’” she says on “Virtual Reali-Tea.”
“I was being very facetious when I said that. And lesson learned in that, as a [medical] professional on this platform, I now understand that I’m not going to be given the same kind of … leeway to be nonsensical like some of the other ladies will be with some things.”
Annemarie asserts that she never meant to “offend anybody” by making a comment in jest about an “actually very serious” topic. “I apologize for that,” she emphasizes.
“The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.
