Weird Things About Kyle Richards And Morgan Wade's Friendship

Kyle Richards is close friends with Morgan Wade, but not everyone "gets" their friendship. On paper, the wealthy Beverly Hills-born Richards would appear to have little in common with the small-town Virginia-bred country singer. But over the past year, the two have practically been joined at the hip. In "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" Season 13 episode "Ring Around the Rumor," Richards even acknowledged her unlikely bond with Wade. "People are really confused about our friendship," the RHOBH OG said in the episode that introduced her new pal to Bravo fans.

Richards has admitted that her relatively new friendship with the "Wilder Days" singer is nothing like her other friendships. In one interview, she teased that the two have a more playful vibe. "My relationship with Morgan is very different from my relationship with my other friends," Richards said in a confessional in the RHOBH episode "Esopha-Gate," adding, "She's constantly teasing me. I know when Morgan and I hang out, I'm going to be roasted."

Part of why fans may be confused by Kyle Richards' friendship with Morgan Wade is that they have a 26-year age gap between them. Richards celebrated her 55th birthday on January 11, 2024, while Wade turned 29 one month prior. Wade is also six years younger than Richards' eldest daughter, Farrah Aldjufrie, who turned 35 on Halloween 2023. So, what is it that drew this odd couple together? 

Richards has said she shares a lot of common interests with Wade. In 2022, early into her friendship with the singer, Richards embarked on a life-changing health journey. The mom of four stopped drinking alcohol and focused on an intense workout regimen. The lifestyle changes brought her closer to Wade. "Morgan has been sober for six years, and it is nice to have friends that you have things in common with," Richards said in the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" episode "Ring Around the Rumor." She added, "We like to work out. We don't like to drink. It's nice to surround yourself with like-minded people." Still, Wade has talked about how much her on-the-road lifestyle differs from others in her circle. "I'm gone and busy and I don't have a family to come back to. I'm not married, I don't have kids," she once said, per MNPR. "I look at my cousins and my friends and I see them married and settled down. Now, as I get older, I realize if I was half the woman my mom is, I'd be doing really well."

Kyle Richards is known for her Hollywood glam, but she's changed things up over the past year — and it seems to be tied to her friendship with Morgan Wade. Richards didn't have any tattoos before befriending Wade, but now she has at least six. In the "Real Housewives" episode "Ring Around the Rumor," fans saw Richards get her sixth tattoo before turning the ink gun onto Wade to inscribe the letter "K" on her arm. At the time, Richards joked that the heavily tatted Wade already had "a trout and a roll of toilet paper" inked on her, so she wanted to give her something she didn't have.

Richards and Wade also sometimes dress alike. In October 2023, Page Six shared photos of the besties wearing matching ripped jeans, black tees, Nike sneakers, and trucker caps. Some fans compared them to the characters Wayne and Garth from the movie "Wayne's World." Richards told People the twinning moment wasn't intentional. "It is like your best friends, you show up," she said. "We do this all the time. Well, we have almost the same outfit on." But the changes in Richards' appearance have not gone unnoticed by some of her other friends. In the RHOBH episode "A Feisty Fiesta," co-star Dorit Kemsley said she couldn't believe how close Richards has become with Wade and how much it has changed her. "You are kind of morphing into one another. You're morphing into her," Kemsley told Richards.

Kyle Richards' close friendship with Morgan Wade has sparked dating rumors, which were further ignited when Richards split from her husband, Mauricio Umansky, in July 2023. Richards and Wade fueled the rumors even more by shooting a super steamy music video for Wade's song "Fall in Love With Me."  But Richards has claimed the media put a focus on her relationship with Wade, to the point that other friends have been cut out of paparazzi photos just to continue a narrative that the two are more than just friends. In an interview on "Jeff Lewis Live" in January 2024, Richards said Wade is part of a wider group of friends. "There's like tiers of friendship, and you may love all of these friends, but there are different tiers, you know," she added. "My first text messages of the day are four different people. But if I'm walking down the street having lunch with them, they're usually cut out of a photo. ... Usually, they cut my friends out unless it's Morgan. So that's the narrative they want."

But some of Richards' longtime friends have admitted to feeling slighted by her close friendship with Wade. During an appearance on "Watch What Happens Live" in December 2023, Dorit Kemsley blamed Wade for her division from Richards. "I feel like the closer she got with Morgan, the further she got from me," Kemsley said before adding that she's "not the only one" who feels that way. "I'm sorry, Kyle. I love you, but that's the truth. That's how I feel," Kemsley shared.