Credit: Instagram/Doritkemsley
Paul “PK” Kemsley opened up about his public divorce from Dorit Kemsley during an interview on Tuesday, sharing his thoughts on protecting his kids and taking accountability.
As his and Dorit’s split continues to play out on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, with Dorit, 49, often speaking ill of her estranged spouse and his relationship with their children, son Jagger, 12, and daughter Phoenix, 10, PK shared how he “lit the fire,” while also shading the series’ fake storylines and dark moments, and revealing the one good thing that came out of it.
While PK didn’t blame the show for his divorce, he admitted that they had a great life before they did the Bravo series.
“I’m not blaming that show [for] my divorce or my relationship or who I think Dorit is now versus who I think she was, or who I am now,” PK said on the April 28 episode of the We Need to Talk podcast. “I think the biggest question that I have that will never be answered is that, is Dorit where she was always going to be and always going to end up, or was I responsible for putting her in that world and then that world created what happened now?”
“Because there’s no question that before we did that [show]… I remember living in Tribeca, we had a beautiful apartment, and then we had the baby, and life was pretty f–king good,” he added.
“I’ve been very clear that I do not want to litigate my divorce publicly. I don’t think it serves in the best interest of the kids. I don’t. And everything I do, I want to be in the long-term best interest of our kids,” PK continued.
As for Dorit, PK said that how she uses her platform is her choice, and that’s not something he can control.
“I’ve always said to Dorit, ‘Don’t do this. The kids are going to read it at some point. Don’t do it.’ But I’m not in control of her decisions and she’s not in control of my decisions … I wish that she hadn’t chosen that path. I understand why she may have had to and being on that show is a lot of pressure, and they’re gonna pay her a lot of money, and you’ve got to give the audience what they want,” he noted, adding that his story is “clearly different” than Dorit’s. “It’s not my life. It’s a TV show that shows snippets of my life with Dorit based on the premise of the show, and they cut it, [and] they edit.”
“I wanna be accountable to my kids, and I want to be accountable to myself,” he continued. “And there’s always gonna be, particularly in this instance, consequences to that. I don’t want to add to those consequences. I just don’t, and I don’t want to fuel an already bad situation.”
Although PK is doing his best to keep his lips sealed as Dorit speaks of their private life on camera, he admitted that the heartache between them began after he pushed Dorit to appear on RHOBH.
“I lit the fire because I put her on the show. She didn’t want to go on the show,” he revealed.
Looking back at the decision, PK stated that at its core, the series is “based on trauma” and “very toxic.”
“They allow storylines that even the producers know are not true to grow, because that’s the brilliance of the show,” PK added. “[And] it’s got worse. None of the people on that show are married anymore except for Kathy Hilton.”
“There were a lot of dark moments,” PK went on.
One of the most difficult things for PK during his time on the show was his struggle to find clarity, which ultimately led him to stop drinking.
PK also had a hard time being away from his older children, who reside in London.
“I was too absent. [And] I didn’t want to be absent this time around. And then I was being accused of being absent, and I wasn’t absent, but I think I was absent in terms of my ability to address how I was actually feeling. I actually made myself second. I didn’t love myself. I didn’t respect myself,” he confessed.
Even now, PK said that he doesn’t feel proud of himself or what he’s accomplished.
“How can I at the moment?” he wondered. “I’m in this divorce situation. My kids, I’m worried about them. I’m worried about them being affected. I don’t see this noise stopping. The only way I can stop it is to remove myself from it.”
Another downside to reality fame for PK has been social media commentary, which he’s “very sensitive to.”
“People are so vile … [I’ve] had to block 1,900 people in the last 12 months. They write terrible things,” he explained. “I don’t even watch the show anymore, but I can’t avoid the clips and the trailers.”
Regarding the good part of RHOBH, PK signaled his friendships, including his relationship with Mauricio Umansky, 55.
“Mauricio is one of my great friends now, so I took a beautiful friendship out of that show. Beautiful friendship. Transparent, honest. We share, and we don’t have any secrets. Such a great guy, inspirationally in business … So that was a gift from the show,” he shared. “[And] I consider [executive producer Alex Baskin] a true friend of mine. Great guy.”
“So there have been some wins in terms of friendships, but everything else, it’s not great,” he concluded.
Part two of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 15 reunion airs Thursday, April 30, at 8/7c on Bravo.