Kathy Hilton Officially Joins ‘RHOBH’

It’s official — Kathy Hilton will be joining The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills! Bravo’s The Daily Dish reported Tuesday that the mother of Paris Hilton and Nicky Hilton Rothschild would appear in the series’ upcoming 11th season alongside sister Kyle Richards as a “friend of” the Housewives. The duo’s other sister, Kim Richards, previously starred on RHOBH for five seasons.

“She’s not just a Friend Of—she’s family! Please welcome @kathyhilton to #RHOBH,” Bravo wrote on its Instagram account not long after TMZ first reported the casting news. The confirmation was met with excitement from several Bravolebrities, including The Millionaire Matchmaker‘s Patti Stanger, who commented, “Mazel tov! Your sister is hysterical! I can only imagine how funny next season will be! Give Kathy a kiss from me!” as well as Summer House‘s Hannah Berner, who wrote, “It’s all happening.”

Kyle has previously addressed reports her sister would appear on the new season, saying on a 2019 episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, “I mean, I would be happy … I’ve had one sister on, why not have another sister on? My sister Kathy is actually — people don’t know this, but she’s one the funniest people there is. She’s a practical joker and she’s very, very funny. So I think she would be an amazing Housewife, actually.”

Hilton’s casting news comes just one day after PEOPLE reported that Crystal Kung Minkoff will be joining RHOBH next season as a full Housewife. The founder of Real Coco, a company that offers coconut products, Minkoff is married to Rob Minkoff, who directed the original Lion King movie. The couple, married for 13 years, shares son Max, 8, and daughter Zoe, 5.

The women joining the cast will fill the void left by the exits of Denise Richards and Teddi Mellancamp Arroyave, both of whom confirmed in September they would not be returning for another season. Season 10 was a difficult season for the Wild Things star, who vehemently denied hooking up with Brandi Glanville after being accused of cheating on her husband with the former RHOBH star. Mellencamp Arroyave got heat from fans throughout the season for bringing up the rumored affair and was accused of promoting dangerous diet and exercise techniques in her All In by Teddi accountability program, which she also denied.