Paul “PK” Kemsley is addressing his estranged wife Dorit Kemsley’s recent claims about his sobriety.
During a recent appearance on Bravo’s Hot Mic Podcast, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills husband, 57, confessed he was “shocked, disappointed and upset” when he saw how Dorit, 48, had described his alcoholism and alluded that it led to their split.
“I’m really proud and public about my sobriety, and I’m 12 months in two weeks,” he began. “I’m now completely clear. My public sharing of my sobriety was about recovery. It was to inspire other people that it doesn’t matter how dark it gets, you can recover. You can’t do it on your own. You need people.”
Calling his addiction to alcohol a “cunning, sophisticated illness,” PK said the road to getting sober has been “a very emotional, tough journey, the toughest one I’ve really taken.”
Jesse Grant/Getty
“It’s one of those things that the older you get, the worse it gets. So do its lack of understanding about sobriety is not her fault. She hasn’t invested in it,” he said of Dorit. “She hasn’t worked a program and hasn’t done what I’ve done. So there is no fully blown alcoholic. You’re either an alcoholic or you’re not, right?”
On the season 14 premiere of RHOBH, Dorit opened up about the couple’s separation in a conversation with Kathy Hilton.
While she loved PK, Dorit confessed she wasn’t quite sure he was willing to put in the “work” for a “healthy, happy, peaceful marriage.” When asked if the duo had told their children — Jagger, 8, and Phoenix, 8 — Dorit revealed that they had no plans to share the news.
Dorit Kemsley/ Instagram
“We can be doing things as a family, like we’re not in a toxic place. He’s got a sober coach that I’m not privy to,” she explained their dynamic, before claiming, “He’s a full-blown alcoholic.”
On the podcast, PK claimed that some of Dorit’s “descriptions” of what led to the end of their relationship weren’t completely accurate.
“Obviously, alcoholism had an element of responsibility in relation to the breakdown of our marriage, but that was just a component, right?” he continued, adding that alcoholism was a “symptom” not a cause. “So the reality is is you have to get to what the cause was underneath. So it’s just not as simple as to say he was a fully blown alcoholic. That’s why we’re separated.”
He also addressed Dorit’s claims that she “stood by me” through “bankruptcies, gambling debts, DUIs” and said that wasn’t “exactly true.” PK said that his bankruptcy and his debts were “well before I met her” and has since “recovered from all of the things that have happened in my extraordinary career.”
“When someone you love, Dorit, is on TV talking about the darkest times in my life and suggesting that she held my hand through them, it’s difficult to watch sometimes,” he explained. “So from my perspective, I see that she’s emotionally distraught, she’s unhappy, and it was filmed a really unhappy time, and we just separated. It was the all time low.”
In May 2024, Dorit and PK announced their separation after nine years of marriage with a joint statement shared on their Instagram Stories. At the time, the pair said they “made the mutual and difficult decision to take some time apart and reevaluate our relationship while we prioritize our children,” adding that they “appreciate your love and support while we continue to do the work necessary throughout this journey.”
Neither party has yet filed for divorce.
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The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs Tuesdays on Bravo.
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