Entertainment TV Kim Richards Opens Up About Losing First Husband Monty Brinson Amid Her Struggle to Stay Sober: 'I Know He's up There Pushing Me to Do What I Need to Do' The father of Richards' daughter Brooke died in January after a battle with lung cancer By Aili Nahas Aili Nahas Aili Nahas is the West Coast Deputy News Editor at PEOPLE. She is also the TV deputy in Los Angeles as well as the Weddings Editor. Aili has spent nearly two decades in the entertainment industry and 12 years at PEOPLE. People Editorial Guidelines Published on March 24, 2016 08:00 AM Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Marc Royce They hadn’t been married for nearly 30 years, but Kim Richards and Monty Brinson stayed close friends until his death in January after a long battle with lung cancer, and the reality star is still coping with her loss. “I miss him a lot,” Richards tells PEOPLE exclusively in this week’s issue. “He was my best friend. I confided in him. He knew everything.” The passing of Brinson (father to Richards’ daughter Brooke, 30; Richards also has Whitney, 26, Chad, 24, and Kimberly, 20, from previous relationships) came at the end of a difficult year for the reality star, one that included an arrest for public intoxication and a stay in rehab. • For exclusive photos and much more from Kim Richards, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday Now sober and starring on Lifetime’s The Mother/Daughter Experiment: Celebrity Edition, Richards, 51, says she takes comfort in Brinson’s otherworldly presence. “He told me he’d always be with us, watching and protecting,” says Richards. “And I know he’s still up there pushing me to do what I need to do. He’s our angel.” The Mother/Daughter Experiment airs Fridays (10 p.m. ET) on Lifetime.