‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ Is Still Bravo’s Darkest Reality Show

More than any other Real Housewives franchise, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills feels like it has 20 years’ worth of events happening in the year between when each new season airs. Since Season 12 of RHOBH, Kyle Richards has had a continuously rocky relationship with her sister Kathy Hilton, after the latter’s tirades comprised most of last season’s drama; longtime Housewife and shit-stirrer extraordinaire Lisa Rinna chose not to renew her contract; Erika Jayne won her legal battle against colleagues of her fraudster ex Tom Girardi; and Kyle and her husband Mauricio Umansky have announced their separation amongst rumors that Kyle and musician Morgan Wade have entered a hot-and-heavy lesbian fling.

That’s really only scratching the surface, and because the fragments of glass from the spectacular car crash that was the drama of last season are still glistening across the freshly tarred roads of Beverly Hills, the RHOBH cast has to spend a minute picking up each piece. The Season 13 premiere is largely spent rehashing the past, but unlike other Housewives franchises with timid season starters, that hardly spells disaster for Beverly Hills. The cast, producers, and editors are clearly planting the seeds for an event-filled season. It might just take a second for that harvest to kick off.

Season 13 opens with news of Kyle and Mauricio’s separation, which broke back in July. Unfortunately, that little taste is all that audiences will get for the time being, given that this season began filming closer to the top of 2023. Before any sources could come forward with news of their split, Kyle and her Mau first had to keep falling out in front of the cameras long enough to get a sufficient amount of usable material. Though we’ll have to wait for that to unfold, Kyle makes it patently clear by the end of the premiere that her marriage is shakier than ever.

Read more at The Daily Beast.