“Carcass Out!”: RHOBH’s Dorit Kemsley on a Messy Season of Breakups and Belvederes

TUESDAY 8:12 PM MARCH 11, 2025 CHELSEA

Dorit Kemsley has been accused by her castmates on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills of being “long-winded,” but her gift for the gab has served her particularly well this season, the central storyline of which has been her separation from Paul Kemsley, better known as PK, her husband of 10 years. And that’s to say nothing of the ongoing turmoil in her friendships with Kyle Richards and Sutton Stracke, about whom Kemsley hasn’t minced words. “The audience has never quite responded to me like they did this year,” she says, acknowledging the fickle nature of Bravo viewers. “If we hold back and don’t share things that are in the press anyway, then it feels like they’re being cheated.” But if she appeared passive and agreeable in the past, Kemsley has emerged from a stormy couple of years as the consensus standout of Season 14, taking no prisoners in her war path to self-actualization. But of course, she’s still the same old Dorit, so she arrived fashionably late to the lobby bar at the tabled Chelsea Hotel last week, clad head-to-toe in red, to talk about the current status of her marriage and what’s next for her and Kyle Richards.

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JAKE NEVINS: Hi there, Dorit.

DORIT KEMSLEY: Hi Jake!

NEVINS: I tried to get you a Belvedere club soda with three lemons, carcass out. But they only have Grey Goose.

KEMSLEY: Grey Goose is totally fine.

NEVINS: Oh, it is?

KEMSLEY: I’m not strict about the vodka. But it needs to be in a short glass, and it needs to be equal parts club soda and vodka, and there needs to be three lemons. Carcass out.

NEVINS: Well, of course.

KEMSLEY: Cheers, honey. Are you drinking water?

NEVINS: For now I am, since I’m here to interview you.

KEMSLEY: Well honey, let’s talk.

NEVINS: So we’re at the iconic Chelsea Hotel.

KEMSLEY: That’s right.

NEVINS: Where Jack Kerouac lived, where Patti Smith lived. Sid Vicious allegedly stabbed Nancy Spungen to death here.

KEMSLEY: Yes.

NEVINS: So, what’s your favorite bit of New York City lore?

KEMSLEY: Well, I can tell you that I have always had an affection for New York City for a multitude of reasons, but largely due in part to its rich, vibrant culture and history. It’s got glam, it’s got grit, it’s got a bit of everything. You can be in any mood—in the mood for great Italian food, in the mood for great Indian food, you can decide to put together a dinner party at the last second. That’s what I love about New York City. I lived here for a long time and thought that I would never be pulled out. And here I am 10 years later, having lived in Los Angeles, and truly only because I have children, I think. But other than that, New York City as a whole inspires me. Listen, to live in a large apartment or townhouse in New York City is not easy; you have to make a lot of money.

NEVINS: I’m working on it.

KEMSLEY: You and me both. But what you get in New York City, you can’t get anywhere else in the world, and that’s why I am so drawn to this city and why I still consider myself a New Yorker. I need to come in and out of New York throughout the year to get my fix.

NEVINS: Well, we’re happy to have you. 

KEMSLEY: Thank you, honey.

NEVINS: So this has been a strange season of Housewives for you, and certainly more eventful than your first several seasons. Has the experience of watching it back been different than it was when you weren’t necessarily front and center, right in the belly of the beast?

KEMSLEY: You know, since I joined Housewives, I was polarizing from the get-go and in the belly of the beast, as you say. I heard a lot of people say, “Season Seven Dorit has returned. She got her voice back.” And I understand what they’re saying. You know, you go through life and its challenges, and I had something happen to me almost three years ago that really changed me in a lot of ways for a good couple of years. I was struggling to come back into myself and find that confidence and that voice and that strength that I had embodied my entire life. And you’re navigating that alone, having ups and downs in your marriage and being on television, so it’s not the easiest position to be in. And you’re also unsure of who you are now, and whether you’ll ever return to who you used to be. And somehow, by the grace of god, I managed to come out of that and with very clear eyes. When you’re in a dark place and you emerge from that, you know you never want to go back there. You want to eliminate all of the toxic shit in your life, and you have to be strong and you have to be resilient and you have to be very clear and concise. And I think that’s what you saw this year.

NEVINS: So you’re saying this is a return to form rather than some new Dorit.

KEMSLEY: That’s exactly right.

NEVINS: I love it. Well, you’ve certainly spoken with such candor about your separation from PK Has that caused any issues? Like, “Hey, I really didn’t like the way that you characterized me on that episode last night.”

KEMSLEY: Oh, yeah. It’s actually caused a lot of issues. You know, we were very amicable and friendly, and then we filmed. And when the show first aired, we’d filmed seven, eight months before that, so it’s really difficult when you’re in the present moment to think where you were eight months ago, right? That’s the difficulty about filming the show and then watching it. So if you have something like I was going through—like what I am going through—it becomes very again when you watch it back, even though it’s not. So yes, I think that PK struggled with watching some episodes. He knew going into the season I had to live in truth and be able to share, because that’s my job and that’s what I signed up to do. And it’s actually something that PK, out of all people, is very comfortable with. I think that watching it and seeing some of the audience’s responses, he assumed that he would come out victorious.

NEVINS: Well, what’s the prize?

KEMSLEY: Yes, I think maybe you’re right. Maybe more so, he thought he’d have more support, and I think that that caused a lot of issues and friction. And that’s unfortunate because I’ve really tried hard to say, “PK, let’s stay in the present moment.” Because regardless of work, regardless of whether we end up getting divorced or whether we reconcile, it’s incredibly important that we have peace and a relationship, because we have two children and there’s no reason in the world for us not to. I don’t look at him as my enemy, and there’s no reason for him to look at me as his enemy. He knows what I signed up to do, and he’s been a big supporter of it. In fact, it was him that pushed me to do the show eight years ago. I didn’t want to. He was very encouraging of it and supportive and even said, “Listen, you should feel very free to be open and honest and truthful.” So I think that sometimes, be careful what you wish for. But you know, by no means was I out to get him or expose him. And as far as the alcoholic thing, people had a strong reaction to it. It was the first time that I had ever spoken about PK’s drinking, and it was with his support. I had asked him, “What are you comfortable with me sharing?” And he was already public about his journey of sobriety.

NEVINS: Well, I want to commend you for how forthcoming you’ve been. Some of your castmates can’t say the same. And Bravo fans are pretty tough.

KEMSLEY: Thank you. And yes, they are.

NEVINS: Do you feel like they’ve given you a hard time in the past?

KEMSLEY: Oh, yes. Oh, definitely. The audience has never quite responded to me like they did this year. Obviously, you want the support and to be liked, but it’s a very fickle world and they may love you one second and hate you the next, and that’s fine. But I think as long as you are true and honest and open, people feel like they’re getting their money’s worth whether they agree with you or not. And that’s a cheeky way of saying that they’re tuning in to a reality show to watch the reality of these women’s lives. So if we hold back and don’t share things that are in the press anyway, then it feels like they’re being cheated, and that’s not fair to the audience. And to be honest with you, it’s very liberating. As one of the women who’s signed up to share my life, even the worst of it, I at least want to be able to be in my truth, and that means not just my personal stuff, but also my relationships with the ladies. And I was always closest to Kyle, so that friendship was definitely the most fractured, and we had reached a point where it felt like our friendship was not even in the same hemisphere compared to what it used to be. So I had nothing to lose. It was like, “Hello, I care about you, this is a real friendship for me. If it’s not for you, that’s okay, but don’t expect me to pretend that it’s a real friendship because right now I’m living very much in truth.” And I think that resonated well with the audience.

NEVINS: Yeah. At press time, would you say Kyle respects your friendship? Because in the beginning of this season, it did feel like she downplayed how close you guys had been and I found that kind of nasty.

KEMSLEY: Oh, it was nasty. It was mean and it was really hurtful, and I think that’s why I had such strong emotions with regards to our friendship and my feelings about it, because it didn’t feel consistent with the friendship I’d been made to believe we shared. I don’t want to give too much away though. Don’t forget, we just filmed the reunion a couple of weeks ago, so I do think that viewers need to tune in and see. But I can categorically tell you this: after the reunion, there is absolutely no doubt which way we go.

NEVINS: Oh!

KEMSLEY: That I can tell you categorically.

NEVINS: Well, that’s diplomatic. What has been your favorite storyline to watch this season that has absolutely nothing to do with you?

KEMSLEY: I think Erika’s house transformation. But you know, you’re asking me, so I’m always going to choose something about design and something beautiful. It was nice on many levels. One, Martyn Bullard’s just a true genius, and to be a part of that process and watch him transform Erika’s home, her jewel box, into something that she’s really proud of, it was really nice to witness. As her friend, it was really lovely to watch her emerge from such a dark place and not only be coming out the other side, but to be in a space that was reflective of her future and not her past. And I think you have to love where you live so, for me, that was by far my favorite storyline this season that had nothing to do with me.

NEVINS: My feelings about the design choices aside, that has been fun to watch. But let’s switch gears. You’ve been accused by the ladies of being long-winded. If you were forced to monologue about any topic, maybe a niche interest of yours, what would you choose?

KEMSLEY: Something that you don’t already know?

NEVINS: Well, I’ve watched a lot of Housewives, but I don’t know everything about you.

KEMSLEY: I’m trying to think what would be interesting here…

NEVINS: For me, it would be like… Lady Gaga or professional tennis.

KEMSLEY: Fabulous. I guess I would say cooking. I could talk about my family recipes that come from generations before me. I can talk about both of my parents’ family history, which is very interesting. But yeah, cooking and recipes and things like that. But the truth is, there are a lot of subjects I could probably go on and on about.

NEVINS: I know you’re in a rush to get to Watch What Happens Live, but just a few more questions. When did Belvedere become your go-to drink?

KEMSLEY: So I have been ordering this drink for 20 years, but it became my go-to—like, only drinking this—in the last 10 years. And that’s because the hangovers got worse and worse.

NEVINS: That’s so real, Dorit.

KEMSLEY: It really is. But this is a very clean drink. When you drink just vodka, club soda, with some lemon, it’s just tasty enough, fresh enough, and you don’t have the sting that you do if you have a lot of sugar in your drink. So if I have two glasses of Belvedere with club soda and lemon, I’m fine.

NEVINS: You know your body.

KEMSLEY: It’s about knowing your body, it’s about listening to your body, yeah. It’s definitely about the hangovers, but it’s also fresh, it’s easy, it’s easy on the tongue. It doesn’t make you feel that heaviness that sugary drinks do. I get that way with wine.

NEVINS: I wish I liked vodka more, but it’s just not my thing.

KEMSLEY: What’s your thing?

NEVINS: Wine or whiskey.

KEMSLEY: Do you have it neat?

NEVINS: Rocks, mostly.

KEMSLEY: Oh, I love something chilled.

NEVINS: Here’s a tough question. If you could bring back any departed Beverly Hills Housewife, either for entertainment value or because you feel like they’d have your back, who would it be?

KEMSLEY: Oh, god. Hands down, there’s no question, I would have Lisa Rinna back.

NEVINS: From your lips to god’s ears.

KEMSLEY: I mean, I was brokenhearted when I found out that she wasn’t coming back. I called her crying. She still remains one of my closest friends. I love and adore her. I think she got a little bit of a bad rap, but I know how much she gave and gives and how wonderfully fabulous she is and I’d just love for her to come back.

NEVINS: She brought a lot to the show.

KEMSLEY: Oh, yeah. And I have to say, I had dinner with her before the season and I had expressed my thoughts about not wanting to return. I shared everything with her. And she said to me, “Dorit, if you decide you don’t want to do it and you’re done and you’re ready, then walk away and feel good about it. Don’t do it unless you’re a hundred percent in. Because if you do it, you’ve got to do it. Be bold, unapologetic, unafraid, but do it.” And I took that advice.

NEVINS: You sure did.

KEMSLEY: You know what? It resonated. And I’m not somebody who’s easily persuaded, but when advice resonates, it’s like I can sink my teeth into it.

NEVINS: She activated something in you.

KEMSLEY: She did, and I didn’t look back after that. So Rinna has been a part of my journey and a very big part of this season in how comfortable and confident I was in being as vulnerable, open, honest, and transparent.

NEVINS: Well, thank you Lisa Rinna!

KEMSLEY: Thank you, Lisa Rinna!

NEVINS: And thank you, Dorit. This was fun.

KEMSLEY: Thank you, Jake.