Who Is Lorene Shea? Kyle Richards Childhood Friend Died By Suicide

In 2022, Kyle Richards, a cast member of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (RHOBH),” lost her best friend, Lorene Shea.

Who Is Lorene Shea? 

Lorene Shea was Kyle Richards’ childhood friend and closest confidant. She tragically passed away due to the relentless grip of mental illness at the age of 52. Despite a long and difficult battle, she ultimately succumbed to the illness and committed suicide, leaving an irreplaceable void. On May 1, 2022, Kyle Richards took to Instagram to share the heartbreaking news of Shea’s untimely death.

In the Instagram post dated May 2022, Richards wrote, “I never imagined I would be posting something like this …this is my best friend Lorene … my best friend since I was 7 years old. My other half. She was kind, thoughtful, funny, smart, beautiful , sentimental… The most important thing in the world to her was being a good Mom, wife, daughter, sister, aunt & friend (dog Mom too).”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kyle Richards Umansky (@kylerichards18)

“She had always been a happy person. How did this happen? All who loved her rallied around her and did everything that could be done to get her help. But the system is broken. The system made it impossible to get her the help she needed. This past Sunday we lost Lorene. The system failed her! The system failed her loved ones who are now left in unbearable pain.”

Kyle Richards Gets Emotional As She Remembers Lorene Shea

In the most recent RHOBH episode that aired on December 13, 2023, Kyle Richards, one of the original cast members, shared a deeply personal story. She opened up about a heartbreaking loss that had affected her deeply. Kyle paid a touching tribute to her dear childhood friend, Lorene Shea, who tragically took her own life in May 2022.

Since they were both seven years old, Lorene had been a constant presence in Kyle’s life. They shared an unbreakable bond and could confide in each other about anything, even their sisters. Losing Lorene was an immense blow to Kyle, and she turned to social media to express her grief and shed light on the lack of mental health services available.

In a heartfelt post, Kyle described Lorene as kind, thoughtful, funny, smart, and beautiful, truly capturing the depth of their friendship. She also made a promise to use her influence to advocate for better mental health resources and push for changes in the laws surrounding mental health. Kyle’s determination to make a difference in honor of her dear friend is truly inspiring.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by RealityEntertainmentTV (@realityentertainmenttv)

    ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qLTBmqqeZpOkunDDx6hkoqtdobyzsc2eZKyglZZ6rMXLnmSroZOdrrOw0maaoaGcmbWwu8NmnauhlaOxbrDInptmmqliwLa1wqKbnmc%3D