Kyle Richards - Life Is Not a Reality Show: Keeping It Real with the Housewife Who Does It All

This sassy California native was born in Hollywood, into an acting family. She landed her first role at age four in Disneys Escape to Witch Mountain, where she played the younger version of her sister, child actress and fellow Housewife Kim Richards. Her other sister is Kathy Hilton, mother to Nicky and Paris Hilton. Kyles TV credits include Little House on the Prairie, Carter Country, Down to Earth, and E.R. Film credits include Halloween and The Watcher in the Woods. Kyle is an avid advocate for the fight against cancer, even completing a sixty-eight-mile bike marathon last year to raise money to help fight the disease. Kyle is married to the love of her life, Mauricio Umansky, one of the nations top Realtors. Kyle recently starred in the Lifetime original movie Deadly Sibling Rivalry. Kyle is also developing her own handbag line, and developing her own affordable line of skin care. Her greatest passion, however, is being a mother to her four daughters: Farrah (22), Alexia (15), Sophia (11), and Portia (3). Kyle believes If you obey all the rules, youll miss all the fun.

Australia

HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.

25 Ryde Road (PO Box 321)

Pymble, NSW 2073, Australia

http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com.au

Canada

HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

55 Avenue Road, Suite 2900

Toronto, ON, M5R, 3L2, Canada

http://www.harpercollinsebooks.ca

New Zealand

HarperCollinsPublishers (New Zealand) Limited

P.O. Box 1

Auckland, New Zealand

http://www.harpercollins.co.nz

United Kingdom

HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

77-85 Fulham Palace Road

London, W6 8JB, UK

http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.uk

United States

HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

10 East 53rd Street

New York, NY 10022

http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com

I want to thank my dad, Ken Richards, for being the most kind and loving father. I love and miss you.

I want to thank everyone who made this book possible. My publisher, HarperOne, for making me an author! My editor Nancy Hancock and my publicist Suzanne Wickham. Robin Micheli, I couldnt have done this book without you. My manager, Bette Smith Dahling! Thank you for always being there for me 24/7.

Doug Ross, the crew of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, my Housewives co-stars/friends, Adrienne, Camille, Lisa, and Taylor, Alex Baskin for keeping me somewhat sane and making me laugh along the way. All my friends at Bravo, The Lady Sitter Justin Sylvester my right hand during all the craziness! Rick Hilton, Dr. Estella Sneider, Eduardo Umansky, and the Benton clan for being the best in-laws/family a girl could ask for! The Wiederhorn family, the Sneider family, and the Moghavem family.

My nieces and nephews who I love with all my heart Paris Hilton, Nicky Hilton, Brooke Brinson, Barron Hilton, Whitney Davis, Chad Davis, Conrad Hilton, and Kimberly Jackson.

To all of you who loved and supported me along the way, Lorene, Tina, Faye, Pauline, Jana, Michele (aka Tiny Dancer), Chris, Barbara, Tiffany, Christine, Brooke, Tracy, Wendy, Roxane, Sue. I love you all. Thank you for being the best friends in the world!

My sisters, Kim Richards and Kathy Hilton. I love you both so much!!

To my daughters, Farrah, Alexia, Sophia, and Portia. Thank you for showing me what life is all about. You are my greatest accomplishments. I love you all so much it hurts.

To my husband, Mauricio, my soul mate, my best friend, and my biggest supporter. Its official I LOVE YOU MORE!!!!!!!!

Last night my husband, Mauricio, made a beautiful bubble bath for me. Dont get too excited, though; its a rare occurrence! But it was nice. He even lit two of my favorite vanilla pillar candles. Very romantic.

I slipped into the water and was just starting to relax when my three-year-old daughter, Portia, came running into the bathroom squealing, Yay! Bubbles!

The next thing I knew there were all these Barbies and other dolls and ducks floating in the tub. I ended up taking my bubble bath with Ariel from The Little Mermaid and a couple of her friends. So much for romance!

Mauricio and I had to laugh. We laugh a lot around this house!

When youre a mother of four, you dont have a lot of time for yourselfor much of a chance to spend quiet, romantic moments with your husband (as he keeps reminding me).

And since I became one of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, my schedule has gotten even crazier. Filming all the time and traveling for the show, taking care of my kids and my husband, and trying to look good through it all just leaves me completely exhausted. Sometimes it feels like theres no time to even breathe! I look in the mirror and think, Oh my God, this show is aging me!

And then, again, I just have to laugh.

If youre a working mom, you know exactly what Im talking about. I have it a lot easier than some mothers, of course. I really respect and admire women who have no choice but to work long hours away from their families, yet still manage to keep everyone and everything going, some without even the support of a husband.

Ive always been fortunate. Anyone who watches Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, or just Real Housewives, as I refer to it, knows that my family lives a comfortable life. You might even assume that in real real life all of us who live here just sit around sipping champagne and getting our hair done when were not lunching or limo-ing, while the kids are off who-knows-where with the nannies.

But you would be wrongabout me at least. Its true that I grew up in this town and have lived here all my life. Im Beverly Hills born and bred. But I am definitely not your typical Beverly Hills mom.

Youre the only mommy in the Mommy and Me group!

You run into paparazzi at the grocery store.

Men have wives who are younger than their kids.

Womens engagement rings are the size of a small car.

Can you believe I know some people who never set foot inside a grocery store? They literally never do the household shopping for their families! They send their housekeeper or nanny or assistant instead. But I do the grocery shopping for my family. Its just not the same if I dont; my kids always notice that something isnt quite right. (My oldest, Farrah, is twenty-three, through college, and has her own apartment now. But Alexia, whos fifteen, Sophia, whos almost twelve, and of course Portia are all still here with me.) I know exactly what they want and need.

Did you see our Real Housewives reunion special after season 1? Do you remember when Andy Cohen asked if any of the cast knew the price of a gallon of milk? I was the only one who raised my hand! And I was only twenty cents off, though I dont think he was accounting for the higher prices in Beverly Hills. At my house we go through three gallons of milk a week, the one-percent organic kind. Two I get during the weekly grocery shopping and then I usually have to run back for another before the week is over.

Ive never had a nanny. I do have a housekeeper, but no nanny. As their mom, I understand and care about my daughters needs more than anyone, and I want to be the one making their lunches and driving them to school. I want to spend every single minute I possibly can with my kids. Those are the most precious moments in the world to me.

As you may know, Im opinionated. Ha! So this book is my chance to express my opinions about various aspects of my life, and the way I do things. People have been asking me for advice forever, it seems. Maybe its something I got from my mom. She was known among my sisters and friends as the guru because she was so good at giving advice. Now that I have a higher profile because of the show, all sorts of people, not just friends or family but even complete strangers, ask me about my lifeand for my input about theirs.