The ‘Dancing with the Stars’ season 32 competitor was clear that he and Richards are “not divorced” despite one “difficult” year after “an amazing 26 amazing years” as husband and wife
Mauricio Umansky gave a clarifying update on his marriage to Kyle Richards as the reality stars navigating a challenging phase of their decades-long relationship.
Nearly three months after PEOPLE exclusively confirmed that Umansky, 53, and Richards, 54, had “been separated for a while” as of July, the newly debuted Dancing with the Stars contestant affirmed that the two are fighting to stay together.
“We were dealing with our own things, kind of, super quietly and internally, just our own issues,” he explained on the latest episode of The Agency’s Red Micpodcast. “I mean, certainly, we’re not separated. We’re not divorced at this point. We are not any of that stuff.”
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills OG and Umansky are “still dealing with our marriage,” he acknowledged.
“We’ve been married for 27 years now together, and it’s been an amazing 27 years,” he said, before qualifying that “it’s been an amazing 26 years and it’s been a difficult one year.”
Umansky continued, “You know, Kyle and I are blessed, where we actually had 26 years that we did not have a bad year and I know most marriages have bad months, bad weeks [and] bad years.”
Umansky made these comments shortly after Richards cheered him on in the DWTS ballroom during Tuesday’s season 32 debut.
Before hitting the dance floor with his partner Emma Slater, the Buying Beverly Hills star addressed the recent hardships the pair have faced in his opening package.
“I am married to Kyle Richards,” he began. “We’ve been going through a rough year, and I’m really hopeful that Dancing with the Stars is going to get my mind off of it and have some fun.”
On July 3, a sources told PEOPLE that the couple was “still living under the same roof” and were remaining “amicable as they figure out what’s next for them and their family.”
Following PEOPLE’s report, the reality stars jointly issued a statement that “any claims regarding divorcing are untrue” However, they acknowledged they’d “have had a rough year.”
“The most challenging one of our marriage. But we both love and respect each other tremendously,” they continued. “There has been no wrongdoing on anyone’s part. Although we are in the public eye, we ask to be able to work through our issues privately. While it may be entertaining to speculate, please do not create false stories to fit a further salacious narrative. Thank you for the love and support, Kyle & Mauricio.”