It's no secret that Mauricio Umansky and Kyle Richards have been going through a rough patch in their marriage. The two announced last year that they were separated while divorce rumors began swirling.

“Any claims regarding us divorcing are untrue. However, yes, we have had a rough year,” Umansky and Richards said in a joint social media statement in July. “The most challenging one of our marriage. But we both love and respect each other tremendously. 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.”

Umansky and Richards share daughters Alexia, 27, Sophia, 23, and Portia, 15. Umansky is also the stepfather to Richards' oldest daughter Farrah Aldjufire, 32, who she shared with ex-husband Guraish Aldjufrie. Richards and Aldjufire were married from 1988–1992.

In the trailer for season two of Mauricio Umansky's Buying Beverly Hills, the real estate broker said that Kyle Richards is the one who initiated the split.

“She wanted the separation,” Umansky told his friend. “The Agency being a large family — just like every family — there’s conflict.”

Mauricio Umansky On Speaking About Kyle Richards Relationship On Buying Beverly Hills

Umansky told People that he and Richards had a “choice” to not speak about their separation on Buying Beverly Hills but he admitted that it “would’ve been awkward on television.”

“The reality is that we are going through our issues after being married for 28, 29 years. We did it and we chose to put it on camera and it was great, and now the audience gets to see the way that we interacted with each other.”

Mauricio Umansky Opens Up About Kyle Richards' Support On Starting Brokerage

While the two are separated, Umansky revealed that during their marriage Richards was supportive of him leaving her brother-in-law's company.

“I went home, and I talked to Kyle. I go, ‘This is really going to cause a lot of stress between you, your sister, and your family. And I don’t want to do this move of leaving and starting a company if you’re not comfortable,’” he said. “She was 100 percent supportive.”

 

Buying Beverly Hills season two premieres on March 22.