Ashley Darby is trying to rewrite the narrative about her now-viral Mauricio Umansky moment — and she wants everyone to know she was not flirting.
The Real Housewives of Potomac star addressed the Aspen interaction head-on during the Feb. 1 episode of Watch What Happens Live, after fans accused her of getting a pass for chatting up Kyle Richards’ separated husband while criticizing castmate Stacey Rusch for allegedly entertaining her own ex-househusband drama.
As Ashley put it bluntly to Andy Cohen:
“Let us clarify, number one… Kyle and I did talk about this the other day, but I did not flirt with Mauricio, let the record reflect.”
She insists the situation is being exaggerated — and says the difference between her behavior and Stacey’s comes down to honesty. Ashley claims she was transparent, and most importantly, she maintains she wasn’t trying to shoot her shot.
Andy teased that viewers will eventually see Ashley and Kyle’s private conversation play out on Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Roaring 20th, so the full fallout is still coming. But Ashley doubled down in the moment, rating her flirt level a one out of ten.
“He’s not even my type,” she added.
Kyle, for her part, previously admitted she hadn’t even seen the Potomac episode yet, but said it would be “embarrassing” if Ashley had flirted. Not exactly a glowing endorsement.
And then Married to Medicine’s Kari Wells slid in with the comment that lit Bravo Twitter on fire:
“Mauricio flirts with a lot of girls in Aspen.”
Which… didn’t exactly help anyone’s case.
For context: the drama started when the Potomac cast made a stop in Aspen during Season 10. The women ran into Mauricio at Kyle’s favorite hat store, Kemo Sabe, where he popped in to say hello. Ashley, clearly entertained by the encounter, tried to keep the conversation going after Mauricio mentioned he was heading out solo that night.
Enter Gizelle Bryant, who immediately shut it down.
“Mauricio, we’re going to let you go,” Gizelle told him. “These ladies right here are a hot mess. Keep your tongues in your mouth!”
Later, Ashley argued enough time had passed since Kyle and Mauricio’s 2023 separation that it shouldn’t be a big deal. Gizelle, however, admitted she intervened for self-preservation.
“I don’t want a Beverly Hills–Potomac showdown,” she said. “Those girls on Beverly Hills would be pissed. I don’t want Erika Jayne on my phone. I don’t want Dorit on my phone. None of them.”
Whether this was harmless banter or thirsty energy depends entirely on who you ask — but one thing is clear: nobody wants Beverly Hills calling their phone.
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