'RHOBH': Kyle Richards on what made Lisa Vanderpump feud 'so much worse' (Exclusive)

Kyle Richards and Lisa Vanderpump's tumultuous friendship has come to a head on the current season of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," but Richards says that input from the Bravo show's loyal viewers has made their feud "so much worse."

During an exclusive sit-down with AOL's Gibson Johns at Allergan's Mother's Day event in New York City over the weekend, Richards opened up about how the dissolution of her friendship with Vanderpump has divided viewers, prompting oftentimes heated discussions on Twitter that haven't helped any efforts to resolve their issues.

"The Twitter world just loves to take their gasoline and throw a match on it, which really hurts us, because we could maybe be getting better and then a lot of the cast will look and see what the Twitter universe is saying, and it gets us worked up again," she explained. "Like, can you not contribute to this? We’re trying to fix things!"

Richards admitted that her tiff with Vanderpump over accusations that the restauranteur planted a story about #PuppyGate in Radar Online has become "very polarizing," with fans of the show taking one side or the other in this season's dominant storyline.

"People so want Lisa and I to be together and are so upset about it," she said. "Lisa and I are having this argument and then you have people making it so much worse than it is. It seems so stupid, because we’re grown women. But we’re looking at Twitter, and it’s part of our jobs to promote and talk about the show ... but it’s like, 'Leave me alone!'"

That being said, though some of the more pointed rhetoric online has certainly fanned the flames of her low-point with Vanderpump, the original cast member did express gratitude for the loyalty that millions of people have shown "RHOBH" since it premiered nearly a decade ago in 2010.

"They’re very passionate about it, which is really good. The show’s been on for almost a decade of my life, so the fact that the ratings are so high speaks volumes," Richards said. "I appreciate them watching."

Since joining the show, the former child star has grown to push herself to embrace rather than avoid confrontation, both with her fellow cast members and her critics online.

"I’ve always been the type of person who doesn’t like confrontation, and I have anxiety, so that’s part of why I can’t handle it. But it’s taught me to be more vocal," Richards explained to AOL. "My mom was very vocal and did that hard work for me, so I had to start doing it myself. I learned to be more honest, which can be very difficult on the show, because it can turn into something. It’s made me stronger and more confident to speak my mind."

Richards' late mother, Kathleen, acting on her behalf is something that the "Real Housewives" star can relate to, as well. Her involvement with Allergan's Mother's Day event in New York City over the weekend was spurred by her desire to encourage all moms to take a moment to treat themselves.

"I teamed up with them because, honestly, as a mom of four daughters, I’m always doing everything for my kids, so I wanted to show other mothers that this is something that we could do for ourselves," Richards said of BOTOX® Cosmetic treatments. "It used to be a topic that wasn’t really talked about it, but now it can be part of a normal conversation between women talking about their routines."