Dorit Kemsley Nearly Quit The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Before Season 14 but 'Had Unfinished Business'

Dorit Kemsley is more unfiltered than ever this season The Real Housewives of Beverly Hillswhile dealing head-on with her divorce from husband Paul “PK” Kemsley and her fractured friendship with friend Kyle Richards.

But Bravo viewers hardly saw any of those stories. Before cameras rolled on season 14, Dorit, 48, told producers she would not be returning.

The reality star recalled the story for RHOBH executive producer Alex Baskin during a sit-down conversation Bravo’s Hot Mic podcast. According to Dorit, she told Baskin she wasn’t coming 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: ‘You have to do it,” it wanted to take back that control. Like, ‘Oh no no no no no. This will be my decision. I’m the one doing it.’ So I said, ‘Well you know what? I didn’t.’ ”

Dorit Kemsley says she and Kyle Richards are doing better, but ‘I needed a change’ (Exclusive)

Dorit Kemsley for Season 14 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

Courtesy Bravo

Why RHOBHDorit Kemsley and her husband PK have decided not to tell their children that they are separated

So why did Dorit change her tune?

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

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

Dorit also turned to another friend for advice during that time: former co-star Lisa Rinna.

“She was one of the few people I told that she didn’t want to come back or that she was indecisive,” Dorit said. “And she said to me, ‘Dorit, if you’re going to do it, then do it. No holds barred. Letting go. You go in and do it. Be yourself, don’t hold back.’ And that stayed with me.”

Why I am RHOBHDorit Kemsley and husband PK Split? Looking back on their 9-year marriage and what they had to say about the divorce

Jesse Grant/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Dorit Kemsley Reveals She and PK ‘Not Talking About Reconciliation’: ‘There’s a Lot of Work’ (Exclusive)

All this was happening before Dorit and PK announced that they were separating after nine years of marriage. But as viewers saw in the first episode, that bomb went off before the first event of all the actors.

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

“I suspected that he predicted that there would be a separation and that we were headed in that direction and it allowed me to be financially independent or something of my own,” Dorit said. “I think a lot 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 opportunities, more opportunities — financial and otherwise.”

“I will say this about PK. He always gave me such support,” she added. “There are a lot of things I still love about him, and why I married him. He has some good qualities, too. Just… a lot more bad qualities.”

RHOBH: Dorit opens up about her marriage problems with PK who got ‘gradually worse’ before he stopped drinking

The cast of the 14th season of ‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’.

Courtesy Bravo

RHOBH: Dorit Kemsley calls husband PK a ‘total alcoholic’ as she describes ‘toxic’ feuds that led to split

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

Since then, the television personality has been candid about the ups and downs of her personal life, and in 2021 she became vulnerable due to a home invasion in which she was robbed at gunpoint. In season 13 RHOBHnot only did she delve deeper into the PTSD she developed as a result of the invasion, but also how its aftermath affected her relationship with an English businessman.

Dorit Kemsley on ‘Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen’.

Charles Sykes/Bravo/Getty

If Dorit had left, she would have gone along with fellow Beverly Hills housewives Crystal Kung Minkoff and Annemarie Wiley, who also left last season.

Except for Dorit and Richards Season 14 RHOBH also starring Erika Girardi, Garcelle Beauvais, Sutton Stracke and new housewife Bozoma “Boz” Saint John.

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The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs Tuesdays at 9pm ET on Bravo and may air the following day on Peacock. Bravo Hot Mic the podcast is free to listen to on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and the video edition is available if you sign up for Bravo Insider.

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Source: HIS Education