Kyle Richards is reportedly secretly hoping her sister Kathy Hilton never signs on as a Real Housewife. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills veteran has already said her wealthy big sis would make an “amazing” star on the Bravo reality show, but behind the scenes, she fears it would come at a cost.
A source close to Kyle Richards told Hollywood Life she is hoping Kathy never joins The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills as a replacement for outgoing star Lisa Vanderpump because she is afraid it will damage her relationship with her sister.
The insider noted that it would be “very hard” for Kyle Richards if her sister Kathy joined RHOBH for its milestone 10th season. Kyle worked hard at getting back to a good place with her sisters Kathy Hilton and Kim Richards after fallout when she produced the Paramount Network show American Woman , which was loosely based on the life of their late mom, Kathleen Dugan. Now, Kyle is reportedly afraid that a joint RHOBH s tint would “tear their family apart again.”
“Kyle knows viewers would love to see Kathy and believes she’d make a great Housewife, but deep down, she’s hoping it doesn’t happen. She saw what the Giudice and the Gorga families we went through, and she just doesn’t want that for her family.”
Indeed, Real Housewives of New Jersey fans have watched in horror as sister-in-laws Teresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga regularly duke it out on the Jersey-set edition of the Bravo franchise. In addition, Kyle Richards’ relationship with her own sister Kim was damaged when she outed Kim’s alcoholism as Bravo’s cameras rolled on the RHOBH Season 1 finale. The sisters had a strained relationship for years as they co-starred on the Bravo reality show.
During a recent appearance on Watch What Happens Live , Kyle Richards told host Andy Cohen she would be “happy” to welcome her sister Kathy Hilton as a Real Housewives star. Kyle noted that Kathy is one of the “funniest” people she knows and is a huge practical joker.
“I think she would be an amazing Housewife, actually,” Kyle said.
But insiders say Kyle really doesn’t want to see Kathy on the Bravo hit she has helmed for nine seasons.
Rumors of Kathy Hilton joining RHOBH were sparked when she posed for a photo with Bravo exec Ando Cohen earlier this week. Cohen’s best friend, Bruce Bozzi, teased that Hilton was ready to sign on the dotted line for a spot on RHOBH .
Kyle Richards later told Cohen “never say never” when talking about Kathy joining T he Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. But the mom of Paris Hilton later addressed speculation that she’s headed to the Real Housewive s franchise when she joked that it “would interfere with my real job of cutting hair” in an Instagram post.
This is not the first time Kyle Richards has addressed speculation that her sister Kathy Hilton was eyeing a spot as a Housewife. After Kim Richards left RHOBH ahead of the sixth season of the show, Kyle told Access Hollywood that rumors of big sister Kathy Hilton taking her place were false.
“No, that’s a rumor!” Kyle said at the time. “The lies are crazy! I heard that my sister is joining. I heard I was fired and begging for my job.”
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs Mondays on Bravo.