When Ashley Darby decided to pursue Mauricio Umansky on The Real Housewives of Potomac, Gizelle Bryant’s firm warnings weren’t enough to dissuade her — at least, not at first.
As seen on Season 10, Episode 15, Mauricio briefly met up with the RHOP ladies at Aspen hotspot Kemo Sabe and instantly caught Ashley’s attention. “He’s a single man now,” she whispered to “wingwoman” Stacey Rusch upon his arrival, referencing Mauricio’s separation from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills OG Kyle Richards.
Ashley really seemed to perk up when Mauricio mentioned that he would be hitting the town “completely alone,” later on, prompting Gizelle to intervene, declaring, “No. Mauricio is off limits to all of us.”
RELATED:Â Gizelle Warns Ashley & Mauricio to “Keep Your Tongues in Your Mouth” in RHOP Midseason Trailer
Undeterred, Ashley and Gizelle used a trip to the store’s restroom as an excuse to follow Mauricio towards the exit and continue their conversation. But Gizelle was not far behind them, wagging her finger and prepared to break up their chat.
“Mauricio, we’re going to let you go, because these ladies right here are a hot mess,” Gizelle interjected. “Keep your tongues in your mouth!”
After the RHOBH husband departed, Gizelle elaborated on why Ashley needed to drop her romantic pursuit of Mauricio: “You know, we’re in Kyle’s world; she’s in our world.”
Ashley, for her part, chimed in, “I feel like enough time has passed,” since it had been almost two years since Mauricio and Kyle announced their split, at that point. Even so, Gizelle simply shot back, “I don’t.”
Regardless, Stacey still offered to run downstairs and get Mauricio’s phone number for her, but Ashley declined, telling her castmate, “I don’t want Mauricio, but for the future, for another man, I like the way you move.”
Why Ashley Darby blamed Stacey Rusch for her Mauricio Umansky flirtations
That wasn’t the only time Ashley praised Stacey’s wingwoman skills on RHOP‘s Jan. 18 episode.
“Who is this woman?” Ashley asked in a confessional, mentioning that Stacey seemed to have shed her “proper QVC” persona during Angel Massie’s Colorado trip. “This is like a homegirl. I’ve never seen the homegirl side of Stacey like this before. And I’m very pleasantly surprised.”
After all, even when Ashley initially mentioned that she was “literally sitting with Kyle” three weeks earlier, Stacey encouraged her to “concentrate on the future,” rather than Mauricio’s past.
RELATED:Â Ashley Darby Shares Her Honest Thoughts on Mauricio Umansky’s RHOP Cameo
On The Real Housewives of Potomac After Show, however, Ashley struck a much different tone, claiming that she “didn’t have Mauricio on [her] radar at all,” until Stacey entered the conversation.
According to Ashley, when Stacey was hyping her up to “go talk to” Mauricio, she declined, explaining that he was there “to see Gizelle,” whom she believed had feelings for him, at the time. But she said that Stacey did not relent, even grabbing her hand and leading her straight to Mauricio.
“Stacey was trying to make this a thing,” Ashley added. “I mean, I just felt like she should’ve just chilled out. Like, why try to make me look bad in front of somebody who we know that he’s in the same circles as us? Why try to make me look bad in front of him? That’s not necessary.”
Why Gizelle Bryant could not see Ashley Darby and Mauricio Umansky dating
Elsewhere on the RHOP After Show, Gizelle replied with an emphatic, “No!” when a producer asked if she could see Ashley and Mauricio dating. What’s more, Gizelle claimed that she “would’ve already had sex with him” herself if he weren’t Kyle’s ex.
“Ashley says he’s not her type, and I’m like, ‘Ashley, you’re lying,'” she added, before insisting that she was not jealous of her castmate “flirting” with Mauricio, however.
“Everything I could think of in that moment was I don’t want a Beverly Hills-Potomac showdown,” Gizelle continued in her explanation of why she “squashed” any potential love connection between Ashley and Mauricio. “I don’t want it. Those girls on Beverly Hills would be pissed. … I don’t want Erika Jayne on my phone. I don’t want Dorit [Kemsley] on my phone. None of them.”
Finally, when Jassi Rideaux questioned if Gizelle thought “Ashley would’ve done it,” if it wasn’t for her, the RHOP OG responded, “It should be, if it wasn’t for Kyle.”
Don’t miss what else Ashley spilled about her interactions with Mauricio on RHOP, post-filming.
