RHOBH “It” Wife and LA’s Real Estate Mogul Make for a Match Made in Heaven

Celebrity Power Couple Put Family and Each Other First

Written By: Tamara Philips
Photographed By: Sean Drews
Styled By: Manuel Parra
Styling Assistant: Willa Fleege
Hair & Makeup By: Pamella Brogardi Kyle Richards

Kyle Richards and Mauricio Umansky celebrated 21 years of marriage in January. With their multiple reality TV commitments, booming businesses, supporting each other’s endeavors, four children, and five dogs, you wonder how the two find time for themselves, much less one another. However, if you witness them together you’ll quickly learn they are best friends and that making time for each other may not be one of their easiest jobs, but it’s a job they are happy to do. Their leisure of choice? Chill time on the sofa together. The after hours of the lives of the rich and famous are more mellow than you may have thought.

It was a rainy day in Los Angeles when I was greeted by one of Kyle’s dogs, Romeo, at the front door when I arrived. Their house has a homey yet lavish vibe, each room incredibly unique, and family photos are spread throughout. A fireplace was lit in at least three of the rooms downstairs accompanying woodsy scented candles. Portia, their youngest daughter, was still in school, only the sound of “Access Hollywood” on the TV in the background was to be heard. With such a peaceful setting inside this home in the hills, it’s hard to imagine just how packed Kyle and Mauricio’s lives are outside of this haven.

Take Kyle, for instance. Before the crew even got to her home for this photoshoot, she had to get her youngest daughter off to school and clean off four muddy dogs who had a blast digging for a gopher in the rainy yard. By the time she came downstairs, all glammed up, you’d have no idea what her morning entailed. She was relaxed, smiling, and ready to play dress-up for the camera.

Though she isn’t camera shy, considering she began her career as a child actor and has been on seven seasons of “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (RHOBH), and most recently, “The New Celebrity Apprentice.”

“When [RHOBH] initially approached me, I didn’t know what to expect,” Kyle says. “But I just thought of it as sort of an adventure because I didn’t have a plan for it.” Though her family has been through a lot the last seven years, and it’s been documented for the world to see, she still manages to have a good time. When asked if the show feels like work or fun, she answers, “Both. But I still have fun filming though, or I could never keep doing this. When we travel on the girls’ trips it’s crazy and chaos. But you don’t always see that it’s also so fun because we’re laughing and staying up all night talking. And I love it because I didn’t have that since I got married and had a baby so young.” The show has opened up numerous business ventures for her, like her book, “Life Is Not a Reality Show.” And this led her to meet her current business partner for her boutique, Kyle by Alene Too, who she met at one of her book signings. She has opened six stores in Los Angeles, Florida, and New York since. While she would get creative when going through her sisters’ closets to create cool looks as a kid, she wouldn’t consider herself a lifelong fashionista. It wasn’t until her four daughters that fashion became a large influence for her. “My girls love that I have the store—forget anything else I’ve ever done,” she jokes. “They’re like, ‘Mom, you have to always keep the store!’” Her girls are very fashion-forward. For instance, when Portia came home from school during the photoshoot, she caught Kyle touching up her makeup in between looks and asked, ‘Mom are you contouring? You’re using the wrong brush!’ Even the eight-year-old keeps Kyle in check! Nowadays, Kyle has taken out an entire bedroom and turned it into a closet for her beloved handbags and shoes. I’d say this tree-climbing tomboy has come a long way! #Closetgoals, am I right?

One of her newest ventures hits closest to her heart. “The greatest thing that has come out of the housewives is the scripted show I’m producing now,” she says. “It allows me to do something completely different, but in a field that I know so well and allows me to be creative and come up with ideas.” “American Woman,” is a dramedy that will premiere on TV Land that is inspired by her life as a child in the ‘70s. “I’m really excited about producing. I’m involved in every aspect of the show. It’s so fun, and I’m learning from the best of the best with John Wells Productions. I could not have better mentors,” she says.

Continuing with the TV hustle, Kyle recently took on NBC’s “The New Celebrity Apprentice.” However, this opportunity took her some time to warm up to. She called some of her friends who had done the show previously to feel it out. While she eventually agreed to do the show, she only signed the contract the night before! “I was terrified,” she says. “But I told them I’ll only do it if I can sleep at home with my husband and kids.” The team acquiesced, and before she knew it, she was sitting alongside the likes of Boy George and Laila Ali in the boardroom with Arnold Schwarzenegger. “I was waking up at like 4 a.m. to do the show. The main thing [my friends] were saying is you don’t eat, you don’t sleep. I realized the reason you don’t eat is because the camera is on you every single second, more so than the ‘Housewives.’ And if you’re being filmed taking a break to eat, they’ll use it against you in the boardroom.”

There is no sleeping in for either Kyle or Mauricio, but when they’re both home, they’re able to see each other briefly in the mornings before the day gets going. And if free time graces them, the two are most happy hanging out at home. “The truth is our lives have gotten so crazy, I don’t even like to go out anymore,” Kyle says. “I have so many obligations that when I don’t have one, I just want to be at home hanging out by the fireplace with my husband. When alone time does happen, I just look at [Mauricio] and I’m like, ‘Can you believe how weird this is?’” she laughs. They enjoy the simple things together like watching a movie or having dinner.

Mauricio’s agenda is just as packed as Kyle’s. When we wrapped up the shoot around 6 p.m., he had to leave to go show a home. He has been involved in real estate for the last 20 years and founded his own business, The Agency, in 2011. Though his days are long, oftentimes coming home for dinner around 9 p.m., he is incredibly passionate about what he does. “I can’t tell you how much fun I have at the office,” Mauricio says. “Kyle jokes about it all the time. She says, ‘Honey, how was work?’ And I always go, ‘It was amazing!’” To maintain this positive work environment he has two rules for the team at The Agency: 1—No Assholes, and 2—Have Fun! “What sets us apart from everyone else is that everyone who works at The Agency has a really high ‘give a shit’ factor and everybody is great at what they do.”

With this love for what he does, Mauricio has experienced incredible success and The Agency is continuously growing. He has had some of Hollywood’s hottest listings since The Agency’s inception like Walt Disney’s Carolwood estate, William Randolph Hearst’s compound, Elvis’ former estate, and The Playboy Mansion, which sold for a record-breaking nine-figure price last summer. With these and other stellar listings, Mauricio was ranked number five in Wall Street Journal’s Top 1,000 Real Estate Professionals in the country in 2016.

When I begin to ask him, “When you’re done with the day, how do you wind down?” he laughs and says, “I’m never done with the day.” But on the rare occasion he is able to find some downtime, he enjoys being with the kids and Kyle. “I don’t really care about being alone,” he says. “My time is limited, so the time that doesn’t really exist anymore is the alone time, and that’s just not important time to me. I just want to be home with my family.”
When possible, the two try to arrange their business trips together. Since The Agency has offices all over the world, they’re able to get away to cool places like Palm Springs and Punta de Mita, Mexico. The key to a happy family and a happy marriage for Kyle and Mauricio? “We have fun and laugh together. She’s my best friend,” Mauricio says. And Kyle adds, “We communicate, that’s super important. And we enjoy being together.”

Lucky 18: “It’s our lucky number!” Kyle says, “It’s in all of our kids’ birthdays.” The number is also in both Kyle and Mauricio’s social media usernames.

It’s a Dog’s Life: Even when Kyle and Mauricio manage to find themselves at home without the kids, they still have five dogs running around—one of which Kyle received for Christmas, she’s 1/2 Newfoundland 1/2 Saint Bernard.

Kyle’s LA Favorites
La Scala Beverly Hills
Comoncy Cafe
Go Greek

Mauricio’s LA Favorites
Hanging out in Beverly Hills
Exploring Malibu

Better Together
When Kyle and Mauricio get the chance to go out together they like to hit up these LA hot-spots:
Il Pastaio
Shu Sushi

The Agency
331 Foothill Rd Ste 100
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
424.230.3700

Kyle by Alene Too
9647 Brighton Way
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
310.278.6200
Kyle Richards and Mauricio Umansky, Our Fave Valentine’s Day Couple

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Tamara is SoCal born and bred with Dutch roots. With an English degree from Vanguard University, she is thrilled to be part of the LOCALE editorial team. She enjoys reading, eating green bell peppers, petting other people's dogs, and cooking/baking while singing into a kitchen spoon to Broadway show tunes.

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