Entertainment

Is There Any Hope For Kim & Kyle On 'RHOBH'?

by Sara Steinfeld

Season 5 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills has been a tough one for Kim and Kyle Richards. They've been fighting with each other for years, and they've both self-described their relationship as a kind of emotional roller coaster, but their fighting really seemed to recently come to an irreparable head — watching the reunion specials has been akin to watching a family fall apart. So, naturally, the question on my mind is this: Will Kim and Kyle ever make up? And will Kim really bar Kyle from her daughter's wedding?

It seems that what's specifically gone down between the two sisters isn't anything new. They fought over Kim's bad behavior, her growing friendship with potential frenemy Brandi Glanville and Kyle and Brandi's apparent inability to get along, and perhaps even more seriously, Kim's accusation that Kyle stole their childhood home from her.

Things got so bad that fellow housewife Eileen Davidson tried to step in as peacekeeper, only to make matters worse, if that was even possible. On top of all of that, as we learned during the reunion, Kim's dog apparently bit Kyle's daughter and caused such severe damage that she had to get surgery. As a result, they revealed that they apparently hadn't spoken in months at the time of the reunion. Watching them interact over the course of the season has been increasingly painful, and it doesn't seem like Kim & Kyle's fight will ever come to an end.

Like Eileen, I'm a believer. I want to believe that Kim and Kyle will be able to come back from this and salvage, at the very least, a cordial relationship with one another. After all, they're sisters, and you can't just turn your back on family like that. The fact that Joe Gorga and Teresa Giudice were able to make up after years of arguing and virtual estrangement is proof that it's possible. Whether or not they'll try to mend fences off camera or wait until Season 6 gets rolling remains to be seen, but either way I think it's possible.

However, there's also the matter of Kim choosing to disinvite Kyle from her daughter's wedding. Here's my issue: Whether or not Kim and Kyle can reconcile in time for the wedding, there's never a circumstance in which it's acceptable for Kyle to not be there. After all, it's Kyle's niece just as much as it's Kim's daughter. Call me old-fashioned, but even if families are fighting, they always need to be there for the big moments, and a wedding is one of the biggest. The way I see it, if Kim follows through on disinviting Kyle, and Kyle isn't there on the big day, then there will be no coming back. That will be the permanent breaking point for the two of them, and as angry as they might be with each other, that's something they'll absolutely regret later on.

At the very least, the two need to start speaking again. If they don't there's nowhere for the relationship to go but down.

Image: Nicole Weingart/Bravo; beamylus (2)/Tumblr