The Real Dorit Kemsley Is Back

In Bustle’s The Hot Seat, reality stars talk candidly about life on- and off-camera. This week, Dorit Kemsley opens up about her divorce, regrets, and a fading friendship. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star talked to Bustle before the Los Angeles wildfires.

Before filming the new season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Dorit Kemsley made a decision. She’d recently separated from her husband after a 10-year marriage, but couldn’t turn to former-BFF Kyle Richards, with whom she’d had a falling out. Instead of processing the changes off-camera and leaving the show, when the cameras started rolling for Season 14, she made a commitment to be more open than ever.

“I needed to be unburdened of trying to hold anything inside and really just wanted to live in the present moment and in my feelings, whatever they are at that moment, because so much was going on in my life,” Kemsley tells Bustle over Zoom from her home office in Encino.

Her addition to the RHOBH cast in 2016 was almost immediately divisive due to her wild antics, like gifting Erika Jayne panties to avoid seeing her nether regions (again) and then tearing her to shreds after that gesture caused tension with Jayne. (They are close now.) Some fans lapped up her attitude while others were turned off.

Regardless, her viral memes and moments — from designing a room at Buca di Beppo to her “carcass out” drink order — have since become beloved Bravo lore.

And for the record, she regrets nothing. “Once upon a time, I would’ve said I was least proud of when I jokingly called Camille [Grammer] a stupid C-*-N-T, but now it could be one of the proudest moments,” she says with a laugh.

In recent seasons, she became less outspoken while navigating personal drama, like her marriage problems and a 2021 home invasion. But in Season 14, which is currently airing on Bravo, Kemsley dives headfirst into conflicts with Kyle, Sutton Stracke, and even Camille, whose guest appearance fell apart at the hands of Kemsley’s shade.

As fans have proclaimed online, “Season 7 Dorit” is back. “I think it took being at my lowest,” she says about finding her voice again. “When you’re [down] over a sustained period of time, you really are desperate to come out of it.”

Below, Kemsley gets candid about her cast fallouts, reunion regret, and texting with an Oscar winner.

It’s ironic how your relationship with Kyle is broken this season since you’re going through similar separations. What’s your biggest gripe with her?

I felt like a friendship I cherished slowly started to feel [unreciprocated]. I let things be, but the distance between us just grew. I went from missing her and feeling sad about it to feeling that I was being taken advantage of and cast aside. The straw that broke the camel’s back was when she publicly said I exaggerated our friendship and we weren’t as close. Then months later, I get a text where she talks about how close we are.

That text caused more tension when you showed it at the reunion. Do you regret that?

I stand by it. Let me say this: I regret hurting her because that wasn’t my intention, but I couldn’t let something like that slide, [since it] spoke to my issues with our friendship. There was no privileged information she had shared in confidence. Erika, who’s a good friend to us both, confirmed she would’ve felt the same way.

In a recent episode, you told Camille that she was “desperate for a moment.” Is there anyone else like Camille who you think is also desperate?

This town is not short of those people, but Camille is one essential person in my life who is just thirsty for that attention. She loves to comment on Twitter about an episode. It’s like, “Don’t you have a life?” I mean, is she still married?

She’s not the first person to accuse you of holding up the group because you’re taking photos. Do you plead guilty to that?

If guilty is the word, well, of course. Many have followed in my footsteps, FYI. I led the charge. The person that protested it the most, who made the biggest deal of it, my friend Kyle, suddenly does the same not long after. And she should. If you spend that much time, effort, and money to look great, take pictures.

Of course —

And sorry, just to add, because I’ve been told I can’t stop talking and I’m loquacious, it’s so funny and interesting that that was Camille’s argument. It’s like when someone’s looking for something because they don’t really have much.

Which reunion moment are you most proud of so far?

The one that we’re about to have. [Editor’s note: The reunion will air this spring.]

Oh, how are you going to go into it?

Just like I went into this season.

On the contrary, which moment are you least proud of?

Last reunion, I had a wardrobe malfunction, and it was stressing me out. It’s so frivolous and ridiculous, but the zipper ripped, which kept us waiting an hour. Then I was sitting on the wrong side, and I couldn’t get it out of my mind. So I didn’t go in with the right frame of mind. There was a lot of “I wish I had said that,” and that’s the worst feeling.

Of course, your biggest regret has to do with fashion.

I know.

On that note, who has the best confessional looks?

Erika has great ones. I really appreciate when people put a lot of time and effort into a look when they dress intentionally, and it’s on par with who they are or how they feel.

What is your favorite Bravo one-liner?

I thought it was really great, the “so chic” with Jamie Lee Curtis. Obviously, in the moment, I wasn’t aware of [how much I said it], but oh my God, she’s so iconic. After that, she went on to win an Oscar. I text her to congratulate her, and she sent me a picture of her outfit and said, “Is it so chic?” She threw it back at me.

This interview has been edited or condensed for clarity.