Sutton Stracke Shuts Down Kyle Richards’ “Shallow” Characterization Of Her In The ‘RHOBH’ Season 13 Premiere: “The Last Thing That I Am Is Vapid”

It’s no secret that Sutton Stracke is a Real Housewives of Beverly Hills fan-favorite. Who could forget when she popularized the term “hunky dory?” Or when she dissed Crystal Kung Minkoff‘s “ugly, leather pants?” Or when she told a pregnant Teddi Mellencamp to her face that she thought she would be “boring?” These are the iconic moments that make for a truly unforgettable Housewife — and only going onto her third full-time season, it’s obvious that Stracke deserves every ounce of praise from Bravoholics across the land.

In the Season 13 premiere, which aired on Wednesday (Oct. 25), the women come together to work out their issues following a troublesome year. At one point, Kyle Richards sobs about her strained relationship with sister Kathy Hilton — who did not return to the series — and expresses her frustrations with Stracke and Dorit Kemsley for not having her back amid the drama. While Richards speculates that Stracke stood by Hilton because she likes going to her parties, the Southern belle made sure to shut down the “shallow” characterization while speaking to Decider.

On a lighter note, Stracke tells us about the ways in which her fellow co-stars helped “inspire” her to rebuild her professional career — a subject she discusses with close friend and Chucky star Jennifer Tilly in the first episode. Before you ask, no, Tilly is not a cast-member this season — though Stracke tells us she would be a “great ‘friend of'” if her schedule ever clears up in the future.

From her roller-coaster relationship with Erika Jayne to whether she thinks Garcelle Beauvais is being too hard on herself as a parent, Stracke opens up to us about everything going on this season. Read on for the full interview.

In the first episode, you all go to a retreat. At the end, you say you hope to see everyone become “better friends collectively.” Looking back, do you think everyone was able to live up to that?

I think always at the end of the day, there’s a bond between all of us women. You know, we go through a lot. We can’t break that bond as much as we try. At the end of the day, we really do always have this very special bond.

I love your friendship with Jennifer Tilly. About a year ago, you said she would be the “perfect Housewife” but at the time she said she wouldn’t do it. Do you think she might change her mind in the future now that she’s made a small appearance? 

I think Jennifer would think about it. I think she would never do it full-time. She’s too busy. She has to play poker. She’s on the Chucky series and she wants to do movies. I want her to do another play. Because I’ve never been able to see her on the stage live like that. So, I am selfish and I want to see her do that.

But I think she’d be a great “friend of.” So we can see her more and more and more. But it was so fun to have her film with us — film with me so that I had a friend. Jennifer and I laugh constantly and we also go deep. We like really talking and figuring things out. We’re both Virgos so we’re very analytical. And I just I enjoy her company in her presence so much.

You and Erika have had a pretty bumpy road as far as your friendship. When I spoke to her earlier this week, she said you guys have nice moments that are “inevitably ruined” by you. Do you have a response to that?

That’s perfect Erika. No, just not her fault at all. She has nothing to do with it. She is completely innocent in everything.

Erika and I — I think we enjoy the pull. The push and pull, push and pull. There’s something about us. We like it. I don’t know why we like it, but we like it and it makes us like each other. Call us crazy.

You’re frenemies!

We’re frenemies! We’re the best frenemies ever. But if she needed me for something, I would be there for her.

The trailer shows you already were picking up on clues that Kyle and Mauricio were headed for a separation. Are you shocked by what’s unfolding in the press now?

I just was noticing a change in Kyle so that was more my investigatory part of myself coming out. I don’t look at a lot of press so I’m never good at these kinds of questions. The only way I can answer that is I know that they have a strong family unit. And that’s a priority and will always be a priority.

Speaking of Kyle: At the retreat, she said she felt hurt by you and Dorit amid the Kathy drama. She also said she thinks you stuck by Kathy because you like going to her parties. What do you say to that? 

That’s a pretty shallow thing to say. And a shallow thing to say about me, because the last thing that I am is vapid, like, I just want to go to parties. I can go to a party if I want to. We all miss sometimes in friendships, and I’m sorry that she feels that way. But it had nothing to do about going to a party.

With Lisa Rinna gone, who do you think is the biggest pot-stirrer this season? And do you miss filming with her?

I probably stir the pot a little bit. I think that we all stir the pot. We all have our spoons in the pot. All of us. If you’re not stirring the pot then get out of the kitchen. That’s all there is to that one. You can go sit in the dining room and wait. And, you know, that is boring.

I did not miss filming with Lisa — no.

Another dynamic duo I love is you and Garcelle. She has a really emotional moment while talking to her boys in this first episode. As a fellow single working mom, do you think she’s being too hard on herself when she says she feels like a failure?

I think all mothers have moments in our lives where we feel like we’re a failure. It doesn’t even matter if it’s small things like you forgot to send lunch to school, or if your child is hurting and you didn’t know about it. So I think we all have those moments in our lives as mothers.

The realization of it can be off-putting because we all want to be perfect mothers. There’s a lot of pressure on mothers to be perfect — and then especially if you’re a single mother. You just really want to be even more perfect because you already felt like a failure in your marriage.

I also really liked when you talked about the importance of financial independence. What advice would you give women looking to achieve this?

I have a young woman in my life, my daughter Porter, and she’s 21. She’s taking her LSAT for the second time this month and she wants to go to law school. She’s graduating in May. I think we as women must continue to push ourselves. It’s still a man’s world. As much as we pretend like it’s not — it is. And that’s okay. We just have to keep going and going and going.

One of the things that I think is so important is to not get lost in family and wife and motherhood and forget about your career. You can do everything. The thing about women is we’re real, we’re smart, we’re strong, we’re able. And I love being around strong women. Just, you know, pick good friends that inspire you. 

Right. I think that’s such a great thing that the Housewives franchises do. At the end of the day, you’re all strong, hard-working women. Whether you’re fighting with each other or you’re all getting along, individually that’s who you all are.

It’s so true, because this show has been so great for me personally. My first season, I really did watch and learn. I was with these women who had careers and I was just starting. I hadn’t worked in 17 years. So I was like, “OK, I’m going to do this. I’m gonna open my store and I’m going to figure this out.” They inspired me and I really appreciate that so much in them — that they had that effect on me. I thank them for that.

What are you most excited for at BravoCon?

Well, my team and I have been working on our booth so that’s really exciting. We have some fun, new things that we’re bringing. It’s always fun to have the opportunity to expose all of our fans to what we have in our store that they don’t get to come and see because they can’t come to L.A. or whatever it is. So that’s fun, and that’s exciting to see. Also, I love meeting the fans. It’s overwhelming. I’m like, “You like me?” Because I don’t know — I don’t think of myself in that way. So I’m always so grateful and I can’t believe how many fans there are — to the show, to Bravo. I mean, it’s just wild.

What I don’t look forward to are my feet at the end of the day, but the rest is just amazing. It’s so fun. I feel badly for the people that couldn’t get tickets because it sold out so quickly. But, you know, it’s a great time and it’s fun to meet the other personalities on Bravo. So it’s gonna be a fun time.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs on Wednesday nights at 8/7c on Bravo. New episodes are available to stream the next day on Peacock.