Dorit Kemsley Nearly QuitThe Real Housewives of Beverly HillsBefore Season 14 but 'Had Unfinished Business'

Mar. 15, 2025

Dorit Kemsleyis more unfiltered than ever on this season ofThe Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, as she confronts bothher separationto husbandPaul “PK” Kemsleyand her fractured friendship with palKyle Richardshead-on.

But Bravo viewers nearly didn’t see either of those storylines. Prior to cameras picking up on season 14, Dorit, 48, told producers she wouldn’t be returning.

The reality star recalled the story toRHOBHexecutive producer Alex Baskin during a sit-down onBravo’s Hot Micpodcast. According to Dorit, she had told Baskin she wasn’t going to come back, but changed her mind about 24 hours later.

“I remember PK saying something to me like, ‘Well you have to do it,’ " Dorit recalls. “And when I heard him say, ‘Youhavetodo it,’ it was wanting to take back that control. Like, ‘Oh no no no no no. This is going to be my decision. I’m the one who is doing it.’ So I said, ‘Well you know what? I’m not.’ "

Dorit Kemsley for season 14 of ‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’.Courtesy of Bravo

Courtesy of Bravo

So why did Dorit change her tune?

“I thought I felt comfortable about that decision. But when I had that period of time, it enabled me, without any pressure, [to think about it],” Dorit said. “And it felt like I was leaving too soon. That I had unfinished business. I had too much I needed to say. I didn’t leave the impression that I wanted to leave, really of who I am.”

“That’s when I called you and I said, ‘Let’s talk,’ " she told Baskin.

Dorit also checked in with another friend for advice during that time: former costarLisa Rinna.

“She was one of the only people that I opened up to about not wanting to come back or being undecided,” Dorit shared. “And she said to me, ‘Dorit, if you’re going to do it, then do it. No holds barred. Guns blazing. You go in and you do it. Be yourself, don’t hold back.’ And that stuck with me.”

Jesse Grant/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

All of this was happeningbefore Dorit and PK announced their separation after nine years of marriage. But as viewers saw in the first episode, that bombshell broke before the first all-cast event.

The timing prompted Baskin to wonder why PJ was so supportive of Dorit’s return, especially knowing she would be forced to talk about their marital issues on camera.

“I would suspect that he foresaw that there would either be a separation and that we were heading in that direction and this allowed me to have financial independence or something of my own,” Dorit said. “I do think also a large part of it, if I had to guess, was more about him maybe not wanting to have the responsibility of having to [take care of me]. It almost gave him more freedom. More opportunity, more possibilities — financially and other.”

“I will say that about PK. He’s always been supportive like that,” she added. “There are a lot of things that I still love about him, and the reasons why I married him. And he’s got some good qualities. Just… a lot more bad qualities.”

The season 14 cast of ‘Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’.Courtesy of Bravo

Dorit — who shares Jagger, 10, and Phoenix, 8, with PK — joinedRHOBHfor 2016 in season 7.

Since then, the television personality has been candid about the highs and lows of her personal life, getting vulnerable in 2021 about suffering a home invasionwhere she was robbed at gunpoint. In season 13 ofRHOBH, she not only delved deeper into the PTSD she developed as a result of the invasion, but also how its aftermath had affected her relationship to the English businessman.

Dorit Kemsley on ‘Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen’.Charles Sykes/Bravo/Getty

Charles Sykes/Bravo/Getty

Should Dorit had left, she would have exited alongside fellow Beverly Hills HousewivesCrystal Kung MinkoffandAnnemarie Wiley, who also departed last season.

In addition to Dorit and Richards, season 14 ofRHOBHalso starsErika Girardi,Garcelle Beauvais,Sutton Strackeand new HousewifeBozoma “Boz” Saint John.

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source: people.com