Taylor Armstrong is sharing her love for her friend and former costar Kyle Richards amid her separation from estranged husband Mauricio Umansky.
“You know how much I love Kyle, and I want Kyle to be happy and I love them both so much,” Armstrong, 52, told host Andy Cohen on the Tuesday, September 5, episode of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen.
Armstrong and Richards, 54, were both part of the original 2010 cast of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. After three seasons, Armstrong departed the Bravo reality series, but she returned several times as a guest over the years. Armstrong announced in August 2022 that she would be joining The Real Housewives of Orange County season 17 cast, making history as the first Housewife to switch franchises.
While discussing Richards’ relationship on Tuesday, Armstrong asserted that the couple are “always going to love each other,” adding, “I want everyone to be happy. I’m so neutral on that whole issue.”
News broke in July that Richards and Umansky, 53, had parted ways after 27 years of marriage. “Kyle and Mauricio have been separated for a while, but are still currently living together,” a source confirmed to Us Weekly at the time. “[They] are amicable while they figure out the next steps.”
The pair share daughters Alexia, 27, Sophia, 23, and Portia, 15. Umansky is also stepfather to Richards’ daughter Farrah, 34, whom she shares with ex-husband Guraish Aldjufrie. Despite their separation, Richards and Umansky told fans they had no immediate plans to divorce.
“We have had a rough year. The most challenging one of our marriage,” they noted in a joint Instagram statement in July. “But we both love and respect each other tremendously. There has been no wrongdoing on anyone’s part.”
That same month, Cohen, 55, exclusively told Us that he ranked the separation as one of the “top 10” Housewives breakups in history. He also hinted on his SiriusXM radio show that viewers might see the relationship drama addressed on RHOBH season 13.
Richards’ RHOBH costar Erika Jayne, meanwhile, told Billboard in July that the twosome were “not splitting.” She said she couldn’t speak for Richards when it came to the pair’s marriage but added, “They have had a very hard time. They’ve acknowledged that.”
The estranged couple have reunited several times since their separation made headlines, celebrating together on the 4th of July and traveling to Italy in August with their daughters. Richards has also been spotted hanging out with country singer Morgan Wade but has denied rumors that the two are dating.
Richards appeared in Wade’s “Fall in Love with Me” music video in August, in which she portrayed a woman who fantasized about a romance with her neighbor, played by Wade, 28. Umansky reacted to the video in the comments section of Richards’ Instagram post, writing, “🔥🔥🔥 So good.”
Last month, Richards revealed during an Amazon Live that it has been “very hard” to discuss her separation from Umansky because “it’s playing out with so many people having eyes on us and [with us] being in the public eye.”
Noting that they still “care about each other a lot,” Richard told fans that addressing her relationship status any further was “just too much to deal with right now.”
