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Credit: David Acosta/Image Press Agency/MEGA, Brandi Benton/Startraksphoto.com
Mauricio Umansky says he and his estranged wife, Kyle Richards, are giving each other time amid their separation.
During a podcast appearance on Thursday, Mauricio, 53, opened up about his current status with Kyle, 54, explained why he limits his filming time on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and reacted to the ongoing rumors about his marriage while also teasing Buying Beverly Hills season two and sharing why he’s always so positive.
“I was born with a terminal blood disease and I was lucky to survive that,” Mauricio revealed on the November 16 episode of The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Podcast. “Between surviving that and then pretty much spending the first seven years of my life in a hospital, and I forgot, I cannot recall anything of my past prior to my seven-year birthday. It just doesn’t exist. It’s not in my brain. I’m lucky to be here and I’m lucky to be healthy.”
Looking back at his journey to success, Mauricio revealed that despite starting in textiles, he loved real estate and knew he had “charisma and the ability to read a room,” which made him a good salesperson. So, when brother-in-law Rick Hilton, 68, gave him a job at his real estate firm, he knew it was what he should be doing.
Now, years later, he’s showcasing his own firm, The Agency, on Netflix’s Buying Beverly Hills, which also features his stepdaughter Farrah Aldjufrie, 35, and daughter Alexia Umansky, 27.
“It’s not a toxic environment. It’s about a business and I get to do it with two of my girls and you’ll have to tune in to see if there’s a third one coming on,” he teased, signaling to daughter Sophia Umansky, 23.
When Mauricio was then asked about his experience on DWTS, which saw him starring alongside partner Emma Slater, 34, who he was romantically linked to, he said it was “an incredible workout” and “the most fun [he’s] ever had.”
“You rehearse four hours a day. So you’re literally, dancing, working out four hours a day, then, I was spending at least another hour in the gym, stretching, still working out, lifting weights, all of that stuff,” he detailed.
During his time on DWTS, Mauricio admittedly blacked out and lost his vision amid one of his live performances, which taught him an important life lesson.
“I missed a third of my dance … It taught me empathy for the people that work for me when they make mistakes,” he explained, adding, “I wouldn’t trade it.”
Moving on to his separation from Kyle, Mauricio admitted it’s been extremely frustrating dealing with constant rumors and reports regarding what is or is not going on between them.
“It’s out of control. The amount of stories that are coming out on a daily basis — everybody wants to know what’s going on with my marriage. [And] I do too,” he stated. “We’re going through a struggle. We’re going through issues, just like everybody else does. There’s no playbook for how to deal with it. And it doesn’t change on a daily basis. If we’re separated, that means we’re giving each other time to allow things to happen, which means it can’t change every single minute and every single day.”
“When I know what I’m doing with my marriage, I will let you guys all know, Until then, everybody can take a hike and f*ck off,” he added.
Still, Mauricio acknowledged that people “want to know” about him and Kyle because they’re “public figures.”
“I don’t have a Google alert on myself. I don’t have a Google alert on my wife. I’ve chosen this year not to watch the season of [RHOBH] … because I also know they’re dramatizing everything and there’s a bunch of stuff that I don’t even want to see,” he shared. “I always tell my wife, I’m like, ‘I know what happens to us.’ So I don’t need to read the speculation and B.S. that’s out there about us.”
While Mauricio has been featured on RHOBH for all of its 13 seasons, he said he’s learned to limit his screen time.
“I’ve taken the decision to be in and out. I’m in, my wife’s always right and then I get out as fast as possible,” he laughed. “I go in just enough to be in a conversation, to listen, but I am completely out of the drama. The drama is all about the women and I have no interest in that. It’s worked out for me for 13 seasons. I’ve gone 13 seasons unscathed.”
In addition to not being seen on camera too frequently, Mauricio makes a point not to get too invested in the ladies’ status with one another, especially since he and Kyle get so close to their castmates.
“Reality television’s really strange, particularly the [Real Housewives],” he explained. “It’s gossipy, it’s toxic, they’re talking, they‘re fighting. It’s a lot of that. The men stay out of that, at least on [the RHOBH] franchise … and we kind of have this thing where it’s like, ‘Let the wives do whatever they need to do.’ We know that tomorrow’s gonna change because they’re gonna have to get back together.”
“I’ve seen Kyle get home and tell me how much she can’t stand a housewife, she’ll never talk to her again, and then three episodes later, it’s her best, best friend,” he noted. “So I have very much decided to not be judgmental and just to allow the whole thing to happen.”
Despite his current issues with Kyle, Mauricio offered some sound advice to other couples who are struggling: Avoid the mundane.
“[Focus on] being open, being willing to take some risks, being willing to be outside of your comfort zone. [And be] creative,” he recommended. “As a couple, you still have to continue to go find things to do together.”
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 13 airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.
