Kyle Richards and Erika Jayne have been friends since 2015 while starring on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. In some ways, the two seem closer than ever after so much time has passed. Erika, for example, was quick to come to Kyle first of all the women to tearfully discuss all that has been happening in her life when it comes to her ex-husband Tom Girardi’s lawsuits. She told Kyle she was starting to learn who her real friends are amidst the crisis, and Kyle reinforced that Erika could call her any day or night if she needed anything.
As the season has progressed, however, Lisa Rinna seems to be Erika’s strongest ally, with Kyle coming to her aid while simultaneously throwing shade in her interviews. The two-pronged approach makes Kyle seem like she has taken more than a few ideas out of Lisa Vanderpump’s playbooks. While sly political maneuvering wasn’t always Kyle’s strong suit, she certainly seems to have found her way to the top of the Beverly Hills pyramid, now with her legendary sister Kathy Hilton at her side. With her dry wit, apathetic approach to drama, and ability to lend some wisdom as needed, Kathy is Kyle’s dream right-hand woman and a natural alpha amongst the ladies.
Kathy has been more neutral, and arguably more successfully political, in her approach to Erika. In the most recent episode, Kathy emphasized that compassion and empathy should be extended to the victims of said lawsuits, amongst them orphans and burn victims. Kyle, meanwhile, has stayed positive and consistent to Erika’s face on camera, but speculative and suspicious in her interviews. At the Christmas party “grilling” session, Sutton Stracke and Dorit Kemsley had some hard questions for Erika, though Sutton was more brazen than Dorit. Kyle stayed predominantly quiet but did cut through the tension by asking, “The obvious question is did you know any of this?” Erika’s retort was to ask what Kyle thought. Kyle doubled down and said that as her friend, she didn’t think Erika was guilty, walking a very thin line.
Kyle simultaneously came down hard on Sutton for saying the whole cast was worried. The sentiment was that everyone was nervous about being implicated in Erika and Tom’s lawsuits. Kyle made it clear that she asked Faye Resnick’s husband to break down the LA Times article on the lawsuits, as she struggled to read through the entire thing and he cemented that he believed Erika likely did not know about her ex-husband’s affairs. While Kyle says she’s supportive, she’s also honest that she has felt a need to investigate the issue with outside input.
Kyle finished off the evening by saying, “I feel bad that there were questions and stuff,” and then shuffling her tense dinner guests onto dessert. In her interview, Erika said, “You can smell the fear from a mile away.” Ultimately, Kyle is warm and supportive to Erika’s face but riled up and uncertain about the realities behind closed doors. If she has learned anything from her former friend Lisa Vanderpump’s tactics of faking nice while talking behind friends’ backs on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, she should know it’s not going to get her what they all want – the truth.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs Wednesdays at 8 PM ET on Bravo.
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