“My dream was to be married forever and grow old with this person. I did not want to be in this position, trust me.”
So said Kyle Richards in February during an appearance on The Today Show.
Unfortunately for the long-time reality star, this dream has not become a reality.
While making the above statement, Richards was referring to her husband of 27 years, Mauricio Umansky, from whom Kyle is now separated.
Richards and Umansky announced their split in July 2023, although the two appear to still be legally married.
This cannot be said, of course, for Richards and Guraish Aldjufrie.
He might not be known to the average Bravo viewer, but Aldjufrie met Richards at a concert in the late 1980s
He didn’t speak much English at the time, but he and Richards reportedly had a blast at this event… and were then married with a year, with Kyle giving birth to the then-couple’s daughter, Farrah Brittany Aldjufrie, on October 31, 1988.
The spouses got divorced in 1992.
There are no hard feelings, however.
“He loved me. We had a beautiful daughter together. I loved him. And I was just too young to be married,” she said during a Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 12 confessional.
Aldjufrie has since relocated to Bali, where he now resides full-time, although he appears remain close with his daughter.
“Thank you for teaching me and guiding me through life. I’m so grateful for our amazing bond,” Farrah wrote in 2020 in honor of her dad’s birthday.
Fast forward to Richards exchanging vows in 1996 with Umansky.
The pair’s marriage and generally steady relationship was a central storyline for Richards during her time on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills… until last year’s unexpected announcement.
Kyle tried to explain where things went wrong two months ago on Today:
“I think there were certain things that were there that we had kind of been putting on the back burner for a long time. You know, you’re pregnant and you’re breastfeeding.
“And then it was working and juggling the kids and you kind of forget about it, and then it resurfaces again.
“And I think I just kind of came to a, I would say a breaking point, honestly. And I’ve gone through a lot. I lost my best friend, and I think that really does change you and makes you look at things differently.”
Richards has also said she simply needed space from Mauricio, implying the break-up may be temporary.
“It’s not like there was one big thing [that caused the split],” Richards said on Season 13 of the aforementioned series.
“We do love each other very much and have a lot of respect for each other, so that makes it even harder to make a decision like that.”
The estranged spouses couple share three biological daughters: Alexia Simone Umansky, Sophia Kylie Umansky and Portia Umansky.
On Buying Beverly Hills Season 2, Umansky’s real estate Netflix series, Umansky told these kids:
“I had an amazing 26 years with your mom, an amazing 26 years. I wanted to do everything possible to just save it.
“So, you know, your mom came and she talked to me and she said, ‘I think I need space.’ She said to me, ‘Listen, the rules are that, you know, you go out, you date, you do whatever it is that you want to do. I’m not going to be asking you what you’re doing. I don’t want you to be asking me what I’m doing. Like, we are separated.’”
With her personal life seemingly settled at the moment, fans have moved on to her professional life.
Is Kyle Richards really quitting the show that made her famous?