Roxanne 
Kyle Richards is calling out production.
The Real Housewives are pulling back the curtain on how producers get cast members to deliver the drama viewers see on screen.
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Kyle Richards, Vicki Gunvalson, Gizelle Bryant and Porsha Williams opened up about their relationships with producers and admitted that while the friendships can feel real, the loyalty is ultimately to the show.
When asked how producers get authentic Housewives to deliver compelling storylines, Kyle explained that it starts with the cast becoming extremely close with production.
“They’re your friends, your family, you’re endlessly spilling your guts at them,” Kyle said. “And they are writing it all down.”
Kyle said that once a Housewife opens up privately to producers, those same conversations can later be turned into on-camera moments.
“The next thing you know, they will ask you, ‘Why don’t you guys talk about what you’re feeling right now?’” Kyle shared. “And I’m like, ‘I can’t even lie because I already told them what I was feeling!’”
Kyle then admitted what many fans have suspected for years.
“Honestly, there’s a lot of manipulation going on,” she said. “It’s just the way it is.”
The women were then asked whether producers’ loyalty is ultimately to them or to the show.
Vicki did not hesitate.
“Oh! The show,” Vicki said.
Kyle agreed and explained that the danger is believing otherwise.
“The magic is thinking it’s to you,” Kyle said.
Gizelle also made it clear that no matter how close the bond may feel, production is always working for the final product.
“But it’s always to the show,” Gizelle said.
Kyle said that complicated bond is why Housewives end up revealing so much of their lives.
“That’s why we open up our lives and reveal everything,” Kyle explained. “We give them what they need from us.”
She then summed up the dynamic perfectly.
“It’s a twisted kind of love,” Kyle said.
Porsha Williams added that while producers push for content, the cast can sometimes negotiate what they are willing to give in a specific moment.
“We do negotiate, though,” Porsha said. “There may be a moment where there is something you don’t want to say right then, and you can bargain with them a bit.”
Porsha explained that sometimes she will offer producers something else if she is not ready to address a specific topic.
“I sometimes say, ‘I’m not ready today for this, but I’m going to give you this instead,’” Porsha shared. “It’s still real, but sometimes you need to take a beat.”
Kyle then gave a specific example of how producers try to get Housewives to bring up off-camera drama once it becomes public.
“For example, say something bad comes out on TMZ about a castmember. It’s fair game,” Kyle said. “Someone has to ask them about it.”
But after years on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Kyle said she knows when to refuse being the one to bring something up.
“So they may come to me and I’ll say, ‘You need to get some other sucker to do this. I’m sorry. I’ve been here too long. I am not bringing that shit up with her,’” Kyle admitted.
The conversation gives fans a rare look at how Housewives storylines are shaped behind the scenes.
The women are not saying the drama is fake. In fact, they are saying the opposite. The emotions are real, the relationships are real and the off-camera conversations are real.
But according to Kyle, once producers know what a Housewife is feeling, they know exactly how to push those conversations onto camera.
And after 20 years of Real Housewives, the veterans know the game better than anyone.
