The Buying Beverly Hills star stopped by Good Morning America on Wednesday alongside his season 32 castmates from Dancing with the Stars. While confirming that he told Kyle Richards and their daughters about his casting before the big news broke, Umansky referred to The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member as his "wife" amid their separation.
"They were so excited," Umansky, 53, said of telling his family. "My girls, my wife, everybody is gonna be there [to see me dance]. And we're gonna have a ton of fun."
It was revealed on GMA Wednesday that Umansky will be teaming up with pro dancer Emma Slater for the ABC competition show's upcoming season. He joins a stacked cast of all-stars that includes actress Alyson Hannigan, singer Jason Mraz, actress Mira Sorvino, supermodel Tyson Beckford and former Bachelorette star Charity Lawson.
Later addressing the relationship shakeup, Umansky and Richards — who have been married since 1996 — confirmed that they "have had a rough year" but said that "any claims regarding divorcing are untrue."
"There has been no wrongdoing on anyone's part," their joint statement continued. "Although we are in the public eye, we ask to be able to work through our issues privately. While it may be entertaining to speculate, please do not create false stories to fit a further salacious narrative."
Richards has since said it's been "very hard" to navigate her separation because "it's playing out with so many people having eyes on us." She added that it was "just too much to deal with right now."
