Kyle Richards On Lisa Rinna's 'RHOBH' Exit: 'A Big Loss For Me Personally'

Kyle Richards has shared her thoughts on co-star Lisa Rinna's decision to leave "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" after almost a decade.

"A big loss for me personally. I will say [Rinna] was always very supportive of me in my personal life and my business life," the 54-year-old actress said during an Amazon Live stream Wednesday. "Any time I was producing a show or in a movie, whatever it was, she was always extremely supportive, and we had a lot of fun."

Richards also spoke on why she didn't come forward to defend Rinna when the latter came under fire last year.

"People would say, 'Why didn't you speak up and defend your sister?'" she said. "I can't always explain things, but sometimes being quiet may look like it's the easy way out, but it's actually the hardest thing to do."

Rinna came under fire last May when she fought with her co-star Garcelle Beauvais on the show.

Beauvais is the only Black lead on the hit series. Following the fight, Rinna took to Instagram to address viewers who called her racist.

"We fight on our show if we fight with Garcelle we are all of a sudden called racist," Rinna wrote. "That's bulls--t. I will not accept that. I will express myself when and how I want and I am not afraid of any of you hoes."

Rinna later admitted that she was a "mess," especially after her mother's death, which happened in November 2021.

During the Amazon Live show, Richards also spoke about why she shared a throwback video of Rinna, along with another cast member Dorit Kemsley, from their trip to France on Instagram.

"I felt the need to post something about Rinna," she explained. "Throwing back to good times, because, you know, we did have a lot of amazing times on the show over these years."

Richards went on to share that Rinna "brought a lot to the show on her eight years of being on, and regardless of what happened last year – people have very strong feelings about what happened last year - regardless of that, she brought a lot to the show."

"And we had a lot of great times, and that's what I'm choosing to think about and remember, even though that also makes me sad. It's very strange to think that she's gone, and I'm not someone who likes change," she added.

Rinna joined "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" in its fifth season in 2014. Her departure announcement came last week. She appeared in a total of 183 episodes.