Mauricio and Alexia Umansky are a father-daughter tag team to root for on Season 5 of Fox's "Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test." But before joining the rigorous military mission show, they had to get past one fierce figure: Kyle Richards.
Richards is no stranger to reality TV action, especially as an OG of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." But when it came to her estranged husband and daughter signing on to do the reality competition show, based on military-style challenges, Mauricio Umansky admits that the "Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip" star wasn't initially a fan of the idea.
"Well, you know [Kyle] was being a little bit different than she was with Alexia," the realtor, 56, tells USA TODAY. "Behind the scenes, she was like,
'Mau, you're an idiot.' Like, 'How in the world can you do this?' And, 'This is so dangerous.' But to her, she was being supportive."
Meanwhile, for Alexia Umansky, the 30-year-old says that her mom encouraged her to explore the opportunity but not to "do anything you don't want to do," and reminded her that she "always has a choice" (if she decided the competition series wasn't necessarily for her).
"If I was going on my own, I think she probably would have stopped me. I don't think she would have allowed me to say yes," she admits.
Richards' thoughts aside, Mauricio and Alexia Umansky (the self-proclaimed adventurers of their family) decided to take on the challenge. And like any father, Mauricio Umansky was ready to protect his daughter while also watching her grow through the "eye-opening" experience.
"You know, being a father, you're always going to take care of your daughter no matter what," Mauricio Umansky explains. "I think at the beginning, there was a little bit of fear in me that it was going to be harder. But as we went through ... there were very important moments that she helped me and get through with certain challenges and watching her do certain things. So I think it ultimately ended up being mutually beneficial to both of us."
"Maybe a little more beneficial for me," Alexia chimes in. "My dad, he literally, like, physically pushed me, lifting my bag in moments I didn't think I could keep going. He just was there to literally help take the weight off. Thank God we had each other."
"Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test" airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Fox.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mauricio Umansky says Kyle Richards called him 'an idiot' for doing 'Special Forces'
