Sharing her truth. Kim Richards spoke out about her summer emergency room visit for the first time while attending BravoCon 2019 on Friday, November 15.
“I have to say that I was also very glad that I could share [my sobriety journey on TV],” the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum, 55, said on stage at the Manhattan Center in New York City. “There were a lot of people that were going through similar struggles that I’m so glad reached out and that I could help. I also had a recent health scare and I want people also to know that … there’s times to reach out and know that there’s certain things … I hope that one day I can share that with them. … I hope I can share that story as well.”
Richards’ brief reference to her well-being came after Andy Cohen asked a group of original Real Housewives cast members whether they regret joining the franchise.
“At times,” the former child actress admitted. “A little. But, I mean, you get caught in those moments and you’re like, ‘Whaaa?’ … I miss the girls, even though there’s drama sometimes. I decided to step back because I became a grandmother and I wanted to devote all my time to really being a full-time grandmother, so that was important to me.”
Us Weekly broke the news in August that Richards had a brief E.R. stay at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. A source told Us at the time, “Kim abruptly left against medical advice. No one could find Kim for hours.” A second insider revealed, “She was incoherent, rambling and seemed to be having a serious mental health breakdown of sorts. Doctors did a toxicology screening, but Kim left the E.R. Her family doesn’t know how she got out because she didn’t have a car. It’s assumed she took Uber/Lyft. Her family was frantic trying to find her and Kim turned her phone off. Kim finally surfaced the next day at her house.”
Prior to the Escape to Witch Mountain star’s hospitalization, another source told Us exclusively that her sister Kyle Richards had been urging her to return to treatment.
“Kyle became aware that Kim was struggling in recent weeks and got extremely concerned based on what she was hearing,” the third source said at the time. “Kyle isn’t giving up and is trying again to get Kim to agree. It’s more for mental health than sobriety issues.”
Kim’s manager and entertainment attorney, however, insisted that she was “fine” and “working on a big project.”
The former Bravo personality spoke candidly about her struggles with substance abuse and alcoholism on the first five seasons of RHOBH. She stopped appearing as a full-time cast member in 2015, but has continued to make guest appearances.
Kim, Kyle, 50, and their sister, Kathy Hilton, have had their fair share of ups and downs through the years, but they appear to be on good terms these days. Earlier this week, the Halloween star shared a video on Instagram of the three of them dancing at a Wilson Phillips concert, writing, “I know Mom is happy now.”
