Dorit Kemsley and Kyle Richards have been joined at the hip throughout The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills — but their friendship has taken quite the turn.
Season 13 followed the cracks in their relationship, with Dorit expressing concerns that Kyle was prioritizing other friends over her. The following month, things between the Bravo stars started to escalate when Kyle suggested that Dorit was exaggerating the nature of their friendship, citing a comment Dorit made about Kyle not inviting her to trips anymore.
“This is not to be shady [but] we’ve only gone on one trip together as a couple that I can recall, [Mauricio Umansky], PK [Kemsley], Dorit and me,” Kyle said during a January 2024 Amazon Live. “We did do Vegas together, that’s true, and then we’ve been in London at the same time, but that was just flat-out an exaggeration.”
Dorit has since taken umbrage with Kyle’s interpretation of their friendship.
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“When you’re close, it’s inevitable that you have some highs and some lows,” Dorit told Access Hollywood while attending the People’s Choice Awards in February 2024. “This year was strange, both independently for us and also in our friendship, collectively, so yeah, it was inevitable, we had to have some, hash some things out.”
Keep scrolling for Kyle and Dorit’s friendship timeline — and see how Kathy Hilton is involved in their apparent fallout:
Dorit Makes Her ‘RHOBH’ Debut
Dorit appeared on the show for the first time during RHOBH season 7 — which premiered in 2016 — getting introduced to the women through Lisa Vanderpump.
The ‘Friendship Triangle’
Dorit’s fast friendship with Kyle created a “triangle” of sorts with Lisa, who is no longer on the show.
“I’m never going to get in the middle between [Kyle and Lisa’s] friendship,” Dorit told People in February 2018. “I don’t even know what they have. I know that when we’re together, we have a lot of fun and I love these girls. And I know when I’m with them individually, we also have great fun.”
Fans became privy to how close Dorit and Kyle became that year when Teddi Mellencamp joined the show for season 8. When Kyle defended Teddi and not Dorit during an argument, the Beverly Beach founder was confused.
“I don’t know why one of my best friends would be sticking up for someone that she’s just met, rather than sticking up for me,” Dorit said during a 2018 episode. “It really hurts me. It just feels so wrong.”
‘Puppygate’ Goes Down
Despite any lingering tension between them, it seemed Kyle and Dorit were back in their old ways during RHOBH season 9 in 2019 — especially when “Puppygate” was involved.
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Kyle stood up for Dorit with Lisa when the famed Lucy Lucy Apple Juicy dog ended up in a kill shelter. (Dorit had adopted the pup from Vanderpump Dogs but tried to rehome the pet before it ended up in a kill shelter.)
Kyle’s allegiance to Dorit ultimately ended up making Lisa leave the show.
Dorit and Kyle Stop Speaking
The following year, the friends hit a bump in the road when Dorit claimed that Kyle would “throw her name” on clothes to find success. (Kyle had launched her Kyle X Shahida clothing line with Shahida Clayton, which aired during season 10.)
“I didn’t just ‘put my name’ on the clothing line like Dorit suggested,” Kyle wrote via X at the time. “I worked closely with Shahida on the looks WE wanted.”
Kyle and Dorit Go on Vacation With Their Husbands
Despite the tension during the season, Kyle and Dorit went on vacation with their husbands, Mauricio and PK, in September 2020.
Kyle Supports Dorit in the Robbery Aftermath
When RHOBH season 12 premiered in 2022, the first episode revealed that Dorit had been robbed at gunpoint in her home while PK was away in London. Kyle rallied the women, inviting them all to her house as a support system for Dorit.
How Kathy Hilton Is Involved
The RHOBH season 12 reunion featured a conversation between sisters Kyle and Kathy following the drama that went down earlier that season. (Kathy threatened to “destroy” Kyle following a night out in Colorado.)
When Dorit attempted to chime in, Kyle cut her off saying: “I don’t want you to interject in this right now.”
Things Start to Unravel
As Kyle started to get closer with country singer Morgan Wade, Dorit started to feel iced out — especially after hearing the Amazon Live comment.
“There’s stuff with Kyle and I that’s going on and it hurts and bothers me the most,” Dorit told Erika Jayne in a RHOBH season 13 reunion preview from February 2024. “I haven’t heard from her in a couple of months. Then, she sends me a text yesterday, basically trying to silence me. It was so manipulative, it was so calculated.”
The text message was shared on screen and Kyle wrote that it “bothers” her to be in a “weird place” with Dorit.
“They don’t even know we are going through a hard time so I don’t see the need to bring it up there,” Kyle’s text continued. “I should have said something sooner but I honestly haven’t been strong enough. But relationships and YOU are more important to me than RHOBH.”
However, Dorit also told Access in February 2024 that she and Kyle will “always end up landing on our feet.”
Starting Season 14 Off Strong
When RHOBH season 14 premiered in November 2024, the tension between Kyle and Dorit was quite obvious — especially as they got into a fight near the end of the first episode. The women spoke at Sutton Stracke’s surrealism party, and it ended in raised voices.
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“We both have a lot of hurt and we both have a lot of different feelings and thoughts about what happened,” Kyle said. Dorit responded, saying that she felt “tossed around” by someone who was supposed to be her friend. Kyle got visibly upset, explaining that she wanted to move on from their issues.
“I think it’s gonna take a long time, Kyle,” Dorit said. “We’re going to have to start being very honest.”
The Root of Their Issues
Elsewhere in the season 14 premiere, Kyle admitted it was “a shame” that things between her and Dorit were rocky.
“I didn’t have it in me to deal with it because I had so many things on my plate,” she said, noting that she was “shocked” when Dorit read their text message during the season 13 reunion. “She tried to publicly embarrass me.”
Dorit, on the other hand, said that their friendship felt “unbalanced” and called Kyle a “master manipulator.”
Kyle revealed that she was somewhat done with Dorit after BravoCon 2023. Andy Cohen asked Dorit to “rank the Richards” sisters, and the RHOBH star took a shot instead of naming Kyle as her favorite.
“I was hurt. I was embarrassed,” Kyle said. “That’s really a s—ty friend.”
The PK Kemsley Text Drama
Kyle said during RHOBH season 14 that she continued to text PK “memes and jokes” amid his separation from Dorit — but it seemed to be more than that. A January 2025 episode showed Kyle reading a text she had sent to PK amid his split from Dorit, and the note hinted there’s more to her story.
“I know you have a lot of friends but I am also one and here if you need me. I’ve never repeated anything you have ever shared with me and never would. (Meaning you can trust me always),” the message read. “Will keep sending memes and won’t forget laughing emojis.”
The women brought this up to Dorit, who confronted Kyle about it during a full-cast event.
“I’m f—ing leaving,” an immediately tearful Kyle retorted to Dorit. “Please, OK. I love you and PK and your kids and you know that. I know that you know that. I’ve been made to feel like I did something wrong — sending a text to PK. So, I said I’m gonna read this once and that is it.”
Dorit and Kyle later spoke one-on-oneafter the message was out there.
“When you write things like, ‘You know I’d never share anything.’ That doesn’t feel right,” Dorit said. “You would never say it on camera.”
The text message drama was brought up, once again, during the RHOBH season 14 reunion in April 2025.
“Kyle, your reaction was so over the top,” Dorit said. “What I expected you to say was, ‘Yeah, actually, I sent him a message when you guys separated.’ What would be the response I would expect.”
Looking back, Kyle admitted she wishes it had gone down like that.
“You are my friend, if we are as close as you suggest — it depends on the day — but if we are that close, you don’t do that, Kyle,” Dorit continued. “You’re not even friends with him like you are to me.”
Is Morgan Wade Involved?
Dorit admitted during the same RHOBH season 14 reunion that she thought her past comments about Morgan caused their rift.
Dorit Kemsley Says She and Kyle Richards Haven’t Bonded Over Their Splits
“I knew that Morgan had nothing to do with me pulling away from you,” Kyle said. “That comment bothered me because it just created another issue. I do apologize.”
Where They Stand
Kyle wants to “move forward” in their friendship after all the fighting.
“I would love to get together just you and I, no cameras, no girls, no Andy, none of these people, nothing, and just sit down and see where we are,” Dorit said during the same April 2025 episode. Kyle apologized to Dorit for “any way” that she was hurt.
