With this episode, Vanderpump Rules officially turned into a dating show. Jason goes on a date with Natalie. Natalie hangs out with Shayne. Shayne wants to get back with Natalie. Angelica wants Shayne to want her. Shayne wants Angelica’s new boobs. Chris wants to be with Audrey, but Audrey wants to do stand-up comedy. All of the stories aren’t about work or friends or life as a partying 20-something living in Los Angeles who can only use their microwave or their A/C? but not both at the same time. All of the stories in this episode are about dating. I’m sorry, but yawn. This was the first episode where I thought that the reboot might not be worth the refashioned SUR menus its printed on.
I think the producers have vastly misidentified what made Vanderpump Rules a hit in the first place. Yes, there was a romantic component to the show, but it wasn’t about dating, it was about couples. Katie and Tom Schwartz, Jax and Stassi, and Kristen and Tom Sandoval were already well-established duos when the show started. Even when those people became single again, we never really saw them date, and when they did, it was a flop. Sandoval went right into a relationship with Ariana and then, famously, right into a relationship with Racquel, nee Rachel, before that relationship was even over. Jax left Stassi and dated around, but was always pining for her until Brittany came along and stayed for good. We don’t want to see these loose connections; we don’t want to see people finding each other. We already have Love Is Blind, and this episode felt like a rip-off of that show, especially when Shayne, Natalie, Jason, and Audrey are in the SUR Alley, a future UNESCO World Heritage Site, talking about how they all may or may not have a connection with each other.
Speaking of connection, that is what Vanderpump Rules was always about. Yes, there were couples, but they were female best friends dating a group of male best friends. We weren’t interested in the changes in the couples that much; what was more interesting was how those changes affected the friendships. That is why, strangely, Scheana is the lynchpin of the early years. She came in and was trying to butt into the friend group which the girls hated. That was the story engine, not who was hooking up with whom. By season two, we saw the story of whether or not Jax hooked up with Kristen (spoiler alert: they did), but what was perhaps even more compelling was what that did to Stassi’s friendship with Kristen (she punched her in the face) and Tom’s relationship with Jax (he punched him in the face).
That’s the problem with this here reboot: the focus is too much on the couples and not enough on the friends. Know why? None of them are friends! They have all been slapped together to be on a reality show. They don’t even really work together. Jason and Chris were still in training, Angelica is a new hire, and Shayne hasn’t had a job that didn’t start with “hand” or “blow” in several years. There is nothing bringing these people together, and the connections they do have seem new and not that deep. If you look at Next Gen NYC, they may have also been smooshed together to create a reality show, and they’re also young people who haven’t known each other that long, but there are people in the cast who are close, who have been friends forever, who do actually spend time with each other outside of the production schedule. That’s why that show sings and gels and this one feels like a Bride of Frankenstein that Lisa Vanderpump is using to prop up a failing business.
Yes, SUR itself is also a big problem. There is no way that place needs four hosts/hostesses. Not even the busiest Cheesecake Factory in America has that many. SUR doesn’t even feel like a real restaurant anymore. The show is doing a lot of work trying to cut around the fact that the place is always empty. We see everyone at work, but they don’t have much to do because we hardly ever see any customers. In the first few seasons of Pump Rules, the restaurant did seem full; it seemed like they really worked there. Now it just seems like a set for a reality show. While I do think that the cast is coming together and there are some stars here (notably Audrey, Shayne, Marcus, Natalie, and Demy as a lifelong friend of), and I can see the connections getting deeper and realer in season two. But if they can’t fix the restaurant, what use is there in having a show about the staff of said restaurant?
So, what exactly happens in this episode? Natalie and Jason go to a studio where they spray paint all over each other. Jason thinks it’s a date, but Natalie says it’s not, it’s just friend vibes even though they’ve been sucking face for weeks. Natalie says she can’t have any guy friends who don’t catch feelings. The way she treats them, I can’t believe she has any guy friends who don’t catch her colds.
Chris tells Jason that he doesn’t know if he wants to get serious with Audrey after all, even though in the last episode, he gave her the hard sell and she decided to give it another chance. Jason says this reminds him of that time Chris filmed with a porn star who became obsessed with him but he didn’t date her because she was a porn star. Dude! You’re a porn star!
Shayne hangs out with Natalie and decides he wants to pursue her again and tells her that he even asked Jason if he could go after her. Natalie has lunch with Angelica at Something About Her, and production can’t afford Katie or Ariana, and they didn’t even get free sandwiches. Natalie tells Angelica, who is back from boob-job leave, about Shayne wanting to try things again. Angelica says, “Do I have to stab you?” Sister, this man told you he is through with you. Angelica also says she already has a new man and she’s picking him up from LAX. That is something I would only do for someone I’d been dating for over a year. This girl moves fast.
Angelica tells Audrey about Shayne and Natalie, and Audrey tells Jason that Shayne asked about dating Natalie, but Shayne hadn’t asked him yet. I’m already confused and exhausted. (Conhausted? Exfused?) Natalie, Shayne, Jason, and Audrey all end up in the alley talking about it, and Natalie says she’s not even into Jason. Jason says, “Fine. Have at it, bro.” And then Natalie is like, “I don’t want him to have at me either. Gross.” Now this is all over.
Venus plans for the big season-finale Pride party. Angelica is bringing swimsuits, Marcus is going to DJ, and Natalie is going to perform her hit song “Sure As Silver” with Chris and Jason as her backup dancers. Everyone has something to do except Kim. Oh, wait. She’s going to stand out front and serve scowls at all passersby. Venus also goes to hang out with Marcus and he laughs when Marcus tells him that Kim is off her birth control. It’s the best scene in the whole hour. See! Friends!
The episode culminates with Audrey’s big stand-up debut. Shayne shows up with a new girl, and Angelica, who already has a new man staying at her place, is all bent out of shape and says that Shayne “can’t have any of this sandwich until it’s the only sandwich on the menu.” Girl, Shayne has given up on sandwiches. He is a gluten-free vegan. Just give it up.
Audrey’s set fits into the long line of Vanderpump Rules ladies trying their hand at comedy, whether it is Kristen, Ariana, or the roast of Jax Taylor that made his future mother-in-law anxious because there were gay jokes. I thought Audrey was going to bomb harder than Iranian nuclear facilities (too soon?) but she told some solid jokes about herself and her friends. Marcus looks like he pays for gas with quarters! I couldn’t have said it better myself!
Her worst jokes, however, are reserved for Angelica, whom she digs on for still living with her ex, coming after her for seeking male validation, and generally being absolutely lame. Angelica gets up in the middle of the set to leave because she has absolutely no sense of humor. On her way out, Audrey shouts, “Go say hi to your ex,” which was objectively hilarious. But Angelica totters away thought he weird alley where the comedy club is, and she reflects on what a failure this whole thing is. Her ex is gone, her LAX boyfriend has flown away again, Shayne is on another date, Jason broke her back, and moved on to Natalie. She has no romance and that’s what this show is all about. But there’s something worse for both Angelica and the show and it’s not her lack of a lover. It’s that she has no friends whatsoever.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – FEBRUARY 22: Lisa Vanderpump attends as Keep Memory Alive hosts star-studded lineup at annual “Power Of Love” gala at MGM Grand Garden Arena on February 22, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images for Keep Memory Alive)
Gabe Ginsberg
Getty Images for Keep Memory Alive
Being stranded at the drive-in sounds way more fun.
Reality TV star Lisa Vanderpump experienced a hellish travel experience recently, documenting her pain from a seat in the Miami International Airport terminal.
In an Instagram reel shared on Sunday, Vanderpump talks to the camera, directing her wrath squarely at American Airlines.
“I’ve been waiting now, and been on three planes,” the “Vanderpump Rules” star begins the video. “I’ve been taken off of them, with all these other people, because of mechanical issues. … About to lose my mind. … Unbelievable.”
The 65-year-old Brit tells her 3.2 million followers she was stuck at MIA “essentially” 12 hours. After getting on and getting off three separate flights, Vanderpump never actually got off the ground.
“Not a good look for you guys,” said the Los Angeles restaurateur, adding she didn’t like sharing negative posts, but it is what it is. “Sorry, you’ve given me no other option.”
Vanderpump’s exact itinerary was unclear, but she was likely flying back to L.A. We reached out to AA and did not immediately hear back. We also reached out to MIA, whose representative confirmed 253 flights were delayed “for various reasons” on Sunday.
“Out of 1,181 total flights, arrivals were 81 percent on time, and departures were 76 percent on time, slightly above monthly averages,” MIA’s Communications Division Director Greg Chin told the Miami Herald.
We also know the 305’s airport is among the busiest on the world, with more than 80 airlines flying to approximately 150 destinations, typically handling around 1,000 flights per day.
Some of Vanderpump’s followers commiserated with her unfortunate situation, but wondered why, as a public figure, she didn’t fly private. While other folks told the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” alum it was better to be safe than sorry, the majority couldn’t believe how Vanderpump’s hair and makeup were so on point, despite her hardships, including her boss Andy Cohen.
“Why do you look so fresh!?” wrote the Bravo honcho.
Celebrity/real time news reporter Madeleine Marr has been with The Miami Herald since 2003. She has covered such features as travel, fashion and food. In 2007, she helped launch the newspaper’s daily People Page, attending red carpet events, awards ceremonies and press junkets; interviewing some of the biggest names in show business; and hosting her own online show. She is originally from New York City.
Jason has a penis pump, and Angelica cannot stop talking about it. Photo: Bravo
Remember back in the day when the cast of Vanderpump Rules had undiagnosed drug problems they would rather do nothing about? Remember how much fun that was? Remember fighting about the “pasta” and Jax Taylor’s very obvious cocaine sweats as he whipped off a chunky knit to fight in a Vegas parking lot? Oh, those were the days. Now we have Shayne talking about being off fentanyl and meth for more than a decade and we can’t even make fun of him. He wants to get help. He wants to stay sober. What do we even do with this? Is this what we signed up for?
I’m kidding, of course, and I support Shayne on his sober journey. He’s not even Cali sober like DJ James Kennedy; he gave up weed, mushrooms, ketamine, and DMT years ago. He tells Marcus that he picked up a bottle of kratom and was thinking about using it. DMT? Kratom? What even are these drugs? Am I so old and uncool that the kids invented all new drugs when I wasn’t looking? Should I, I don’t know, maybe try them? No, no, no, no, no, no. That seems like a bad idea. It’s also a good idea that Shayne isn’t doing them either since the last time he picked something up, he ended up in a two-year relapse.
Shayne tells us that he learned about drugs from his family members, who introduced him to all of these substances. It’s come up again because his family — his father, Shayne; his mother, Shane; and his sister, Shaine — is visiting to see the premiere of his short film, and they’re on drugs, and that is a giant trigger for him. Learning more about his family made everything about his personality click into place. It’s the same as when Natalie tells us that she had a “toxic” childhood with a difficult mother who used to say, “I love you, but I don’t like you,” and that she has no relationship with her mom. It’s like, “OOOooooooh. This all makes so much more sense now.”
It was sweet to see the Shaynes at Shayne’s movie premiere. Knowing everything I know, it’s going to be so hard not to make fun of the poky little venue — that the footage looked cheaper than buy-one-get-one-free ramen packets, that it was part of a triple bill. The best thing that can be said about Shayne’s performance is that he really fills the hell out of a tank top. Now that we know everything he’s been through, I really don’t want to say those things. I should just be nice about all of it: all of his Hollywood dreams, all of his happy endings.
Instead, maybe we should make fun of Shayne’s friend Marcus and what happened between him and Kim at the after-party. When they arrive, Marcus tells Kim that she’s giving “too many special hugs” to people. Um, we saw the footage. There was nothing special about any of those hugs. Those hugs were less special than an episode of Diff’rent Strokes in which a photographer tries to touch Arnold in his bathing-suit area. In his confessional, Marcus says Kim yelled at him about him hugging Natalie, so he’s bringing it up only because she started it.
I’m sorry, but this is a radioactive whirlpool worse than flushing weaponized uranium. She says something to him; he gets retribution by being jealous of her; she texts him “I love only you”; he ignores her; she cries in the bathroom, ruining her mascara; her friend buys her a drink; he continues to ignore her; she says if he keeps this up, he’s going to lose her; the next morning, she takes him back and doesn’t bring it up; he knows he’s never going to lose her; and they do it over and over again until they ruin both their and their children’s lives. This whole dynamic is absolutely terrible, and someone needs to tell Kim to run. Ruuuuuuunnnnnn. Run like the wind. Run like cheap stockings. Run like the world’s last refrigerator. Run like Forrest Gump with the braces falling off his legs as he goes right into every war and onto every shrimp-fishing boat in the world. RUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNN.
To her credit, Demy tells her something like this. First, she tries to intervene and get Marcus to treat his girlfriend like a human being by ordering her a cocktail called a Boo Bear, which is the most inappropriately-named cocktail to get in the middle of a domestic mishap. Then she goes to the ladies’ room to check on Kim and finally says, “He’s never going to change. This is who he is.” Exactly. This is who he is. This is how it is always going to go, and while Kim might think she deserves it or that this is what love looks like, she doesn’t, and it’s not, and I hope she realizes it soon and keeps this corrosive sludge off our television forever.
Oh my God, can we talk about something fun? How about penis pumps and merch shoots? Those seem fun, and that’s what most of the episode was about. Angelica arrives at TomTom for a photo shoot for “Shag the Chef” aprons and the ugliest bejeweled hoodies that fell out of Ed Hardy’s backside, and she’s having lots of nerve pain from her time at the jujitsu studio with Jason. Poor guy — he thought he was going to a pussy palace, pussy palace, pussy palace, but it was just a dojo, dojo, dojo. When she’s crying about her back pain, Lisa Vanderpump asks her what’s wrong, and she tells her about her back pain but also that Jason gave her the ick because he has an OnlyFans and a penis pump. She then asks Lisa if she knows what that is and Lisa feigns ignorance, but come on — she was once a young lady in swinging London. She knows.
Thankfully, Chris, Jason’s identical cousin, explains in his confessional that it’s not for erectile dysfunction. He says he uses one because he is on OnlyFans and trying to overdeliver. “If you go to a steakhouse, you don’t want a normal steak,” he says. “You want something, thick, juicy, and a little intimidating.” Whooo. Yes, boy. Amen. I’m going to need to fan myself. Also, I don’t think I’ll need that pump for the next 15 minutes or so.
Angelica keeps bringing up this penis pump, and Chris finally tells her that it’s disrespectful. In this moment, I agree with Angelica. It’s hard to have a pornographic account and then get a little precious when people find out you’re also pumping the penis. I’m glad that, between the filming of this scene and his confessionals, Chris is ready to own both his account and his pumping. It’s just that Angelica was being really annoying in the moment, and he’s right: She was bringing it up to embarrass them.
But this is the last time that I’m going to agree with Angelica for the rest of the episode. When everyone at the photo shoot goes from TomTom over to SUR, she tries to talk to Jason about everything that’s going on, and he tells her that he has to go check on his tables because he is currently working two of his jobs (and three, if he takes a dick pic in the bathroom while Demy isn’t forcing him to check his section). She says he’s not paying her enough attention or even apologizing, and it is neither the time nor the place for this conversation. There is a table of very unhappy bears who need refills on their mimosas and another order of French toast for the table, and they need Jason to come over and take that order so they can watch him walk away in the tight pants that Lisa forces the SURvers to wear because she knows how to keep a table of hungry bears happy and it is ass.
The penis pump comes up again when Angelica pulls Audrey aside at Shayne’s premiere party for a little chat. Audrey tells her that her trust was broken when Angelica kept bringing up the penis pump at the Ed Hardy Wannabe shoot. Angelica went back to her old arguments, blaming it all on Jason. She says if Jason didn’t want people to know about it, then he should have put it in a drawer rather than in the shower. She thinks she could go online and sign up right now to watch him using the penis pump. Angelica is totally missing the point here. It’s not about the pump; it’s about sharing something that Audrey told her in confidence. As Audrey points out, they were drinking matcha in their PJs, having a little kiki (in front of at least two cameras, a sound guy, and a producer). Audrey says that the way she brought it up was fun and as a joke, but Angelica was bringing it up as a way to shame Jason for both his porn career and the, ahem, tools of the trade. I think Audrey might be the only person on this whole damn show whom I actually like.
As Audrey tells Angelica that she doesn’t want to be her little sister, that she’s just going to be cordial to her from now on, two new people join the party. The gay guy says he just needs to say “hi” to the kids who work for him; he needs to make a little appearance at this work party. He brings Katie Maloney Schwartz Maloney for one drink before they stop off at Junior Cookies for half a dozen of the Heather Dubrow special. She sees two girls fighting over who is a better friend; she sees a woman trapped in a toxic relationship with a man who is too mean to leave and too nice to let her go; she sees them all drunk, all making mistakes, all thinking about calling in sick the next day when their co-workers know exactly what they were up to. She’s been here. She’s been them. She’s had all the Boo Bears and turned down all the pasta. “I just …” Katie says as she turns straight around and waits for her friend in his car, dreaming about gluten.
Years after learning that her then-husband, and the father of her two children, was having an affair with Lala, 35, of Vanderpump Rules and The Valley, Ambyr, 37, admitted she was thankful to have seen it because it forced her out of her dysfunctional relationship with Randall, 54, and her denial, as she suggested their mutual ex was a serial cheater.
“I’ve seen all of you, the front, the back, inside and outside,” Ambyr began to Lala on the January 9 episode of Untraditionally Lala‘s An Unlikely Affair, via a transcript shared by Vanderpod Recaps on Instagram. “I don’t want to get into the details because the details aren’t important … [But that moment] really shaped me in my life … I knew you guys were together. I knew the affair was happening.”
Although Ambyr, who shares daughters London and Rylee with Randall, wasn’t sure who was calling Randall in the middle of the night, it all came together once she looked at the tape.
“My whole life kind of just stopped. And it wasn’t about what I was seeing in front of me. It was more of like, I had completely realized that I had abandoned myself,” she admitted.
Despite the betrayal, Ambyr said she found herself staying with Randall due to her lack of boundaries.
“When your safety and your well-being and who you are as a person is threatened, you forget those boundaries. You put aside the boundaries because, for me, that dysfunction was going on for so many years that it felt safe,” she explained. “Leaving never felt safe.”
Even though Ambyr had heard plenty about Randall’s infidelity, the sex tape woke her up in a different way.
“I was like, if you don’t leave, you’re going to die. Because I really did. I wanted to die. I felt so trapped in that relationship,” she shared. “I stayed because of my kids. I didn’t want my girls to grow up with a broken home. I didn’t know what that experience was like, and I didn’t want that. And in that moment, I realized, I was like, okay, I got to get out. This is it.”
“I [had] to save myself for my kids and myself,” she continued. “I was half dead. I was taking pills to numb my feelings, to just suppress all that sh*t that I was feeling inside because I didn’t know what to do with it.”
In addition to coming across Randall and Lala’s sex tape, Ambyr also received a call from Lala, which she is now grateful for.
“I think God was doing for me that which I couldn’t do for myself … [Because] I wouldn’t have [ever] left,” she admitted. “It was denial … it’s debilitating.”
During another segment of the show, via Breaking the Rules Pod Clips on Instagram, Lala looked back on the moment she knew she and Randall had been caught.
“When it came up on Vanderpump, Katie Maloney had been at a barbecue, and there was a guy there who was an actor, and his wife had said to Katie, ‘Oh, you’re on that show with that Lala girl. You know she is with [blank],’ and that’s when Katie was like, ‘Oh, I have confirmation,” she shared, confessing to trying to have her IMDb page wiped.
But by that point, Ambyr “had known for a while,” but didn’t speak up since Randall had cheated before.
“Every time, you get a little bit smarter … [And] from my experience and from what I’ve read and learned through my own healing, is that you get really good with following addicts and their patterns. And it became like a calendar. It was like clockwork for me,” she noted.
“It [was] unhealthy. I was in such a spiral cause I was so desperate to save my marriage,” she added.
“I’d never squash the beef. I’d swallow it whole,” Lisa declared when asked if she’d make amends with Kyle during a November 13 interview with Access Hollywood’s Housewives Nightcap. “I still have an axe to grind, but I’ve moved on.”
Although Lisa, 65, insisted she was “too busy” to care about her ex-castmates, she was planning to avoid them at BravoCon.
“I think there’s six of them,” she explained of how many of her Bravolebrities she was hoping to steer clear of. “[But] I think [Bravo is] sensitive … They don’t want a problem, so they’re not going to suddenly have me sitting next to Beverly Hills housewives.”
While Lisa confirmed she was still in touch with Garcelle Beauvais, 58, saying that she loved her, she confessed to recently telling Andy Cohen, 57, he’d have to fire everyone for her to consider a return.
“What I said was, ‘All of them,’” she replied after being asked about a text he had sent her.
Getting back to Kyle, Lisa said it wasn’t much of a revelation when Kyle said she could go Brad or Angelina in the season 15 trailer.
“Anybody could go Angelina or Brad,” Lisa noted.
As for why she believes that Kyle and Mauricio have yet to divorce, Lisa suspected it was “complicated,” signaling their kids and finances. She then said they could “find their way back to each other” before suggesting Kyle “should be with Morgan.”
“I think she should just bring it out in the open if that’s what she wants,” Lisa stated. “I don’t understand what the fuss is. Where is all this ambiguity? If you want to be with a woman, be with a woman.”
Then, after reflecting on her 43 years of marriage with Ken Todd, joking that their relationship “lasted longer than [she] anticipated,” Lisa denied she would be a part of the upcoming season of The Traitors.
“I can unequivocally say bullsh*t. I’m not doing Traitors. I can’t say I haven’t been asked but I’m definitely not doing Traitors,” she clarified.
Also during the interview, after noting that she’ll be opening a Wolf restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona, in “about six weeks,” Lisa explained how the Pump Rules reboot differs from past seasons.
“That last season, it very much moved on from the restaurant. Now we’re back to grass roots. So we have this nucleus, the restaurant, which always pulls them back together. And that’s what I used to really love about the show — because they have to work together and they have to make it work and sometimes they don’t, but it’s multifaceted … it’s a very interesting show this season. They’re young, they’re naughty — naughtier,” she teased. “It’s very different because they’re just such different characters.”
That said, there are some similarities.
“I suppose going back to the early days of Vanderpump Rules, just seeing them struggling together, that’s an essential part of it,” Lisa shared. “It feels a little vintage Vanderpump but with a whole new set of problems.”
Vanderpump Rulesseason 12 premieres on Tuesday, December 2, at 9/8c.
Lala Kent is clapping back at Jeff Lewis, who reportedly shaded a fan for attending BravoCon while in recovery.
After it was alleged that the former Flipping Out star, 55, had told the audience member that they shouldn’t be in Las Vegas for the fan convention during a moment that was ultimately cut from an “Ask Andy” panel, the 35-year-old Vanderpump Rules alum and cast member of The Valley spoke out in support of the fan.
“Someone sent this to me. I heard it was followed by Jeff saying, ‘If you’re in recovery you shouldn’t be at BravoCon,’” Lala began. “I am in recovery, [and] have only attended BravoCon as a person in recovery.”
As Pump Rules fans well know, Lala got sober in 2018 and celebrated her seven-year anniversary earlier this month.
“To this man,” she continued, “Thank you for sharing your story. You are seen. You are heard. I am so happy you decided to come. I am sending you love, and know we are in this together. It is one day at a time.”
“You also made me feel less alone. So thank you … We got this,” she added.
Jordy Cray drew attention to the fan, describing Jeff’s antics against him, on TikTok.
Although Jeff’s new show, Still Flipping Out, was announced at BravoCon, rumors have been swirling that the series could be in jeopardy due to his behavior at the event.
Amid the backlash, Jeff told Us Weekly that Andy Cohen, 57, was “upset” with him.
“I think that maybe a couple of my jokes were inappropriate and insensitive,” he explained. “I have apologized … I know this guy. We’ve known each other for 18 years. He vents and look, and I sincerely did apologize. Now I gotta give him time to cool off. My experience with him, he’ll get back to me in one to three weeks.”
As she also called out Scheana, who additionally suggested she was “forgettable,” for shading Ariana Madix, 40, for not reaching out to her after learning Brock had cheated, Katie, 38, denied that she went to Mexico to ensure her episodic paycheck, reminded Scheana, 40, of her past demotion, and demanded she “leave [her name] out of [her] goddamn mouth.”
“I didn’t want to talk about this because at the end of the day, talking about something and saying you don’t care about it is a bit of like an oxymoron. So I don’t want to confuse the fact that I don’t really care, but I also just feel like, you know what? It’s time. It’s f*cking time,” Katie began on the September 10 episode of Disrespectfully.
In addition to noting that she’d been told that Scheana referred to her “as a drunk” throughout her book, Katie said she was put off to learn that Scheana, who now appears on The Valley, had accused her of reaching a new low for a cast member by traveling to Mexico.
“It wasn’t because I [wanted] to get paid or I’d miss out. They were gonna have to film me regardless of whether I was in Mexico. I was paid per episode, so I was getting that episode no matter what,” she clarified.
“They did not want to film her wedding, but everyone was going. And I know production was freaking out because like, half the cast was gonna be there, and what were they going to do? Were they gonna have to ask some people to stay back?” she recalled.
Because she and Scheana were having drama at the time, producers ultimately decided it would be good for the show to film with Katie in Mexico and sold Bravo on the idea of “two trips.”
Although Katie didn’t want to go and “be around a bunch of people [she] can’t stand,” she was told by a producer that she had to go during the car ride home from Lake Havasu.
“[Lala Kent] was in the car with me when she told me this, if she wants to corroborate,” she noted.
While Katie could have told Scheana this long ago, she didn’t want to betray her producers.
“I am good at my job. I don’t speak about this sh*t. I don’t spoil behind-the-scenes stuff. I don’t make producers’ lives hard. That’s why I’ve never been demoted, unlike Scheana,” she declared.
Moving on to Scheana’s recent appearance on Gia Giudice‘s podcast, Katie slammed her as “b*tchy.”
“I’m forgettable? Go on, girl. I don’t care,” she said. “She was talking about how she wasn’t gonna send me her book. I don’t want your book. You asked me for my address last year to send me some bullsh*t in the mail. I don’t want you to know where I live. I’ve actively put you out of my life on purpose. So please stop talking about me.”
Katie then shaded Scheana for revealing that Ariana never reached out to her after she confirmed Brock’s affair in her book and suggesting she wasn’t there for her when she needed her.
“[Scheana] wanted Ariana to read her mind and just ask her if she was okay. She’s blaming Ariana for not telling her, but then giving her the f*cking third degree,” Katie noted.
Did Scheana Shay snub Lala Kent on her birthday because Lala failed to promote her new book, My Good Side, in a way she approved of?
As Tom Schwartz, 42, honored Lala on her 35th birthday, September 2, with a post on his Instagram Story, the 40-year-old Vanderpump Rules cast member was radio silent about Lala, whom she called out on her podcast days prior for sharing just one post about the memoir in which she was tagged.
“Scheana didn’t post for Lala’s birthday,” The Bravo Investigator revealed on September 3. “Do you think it’s retaliation for Lala not posting more than a picture of Scheana’s book with just [Scheana]?”
After the post was shared, some suspected that there was no real drama between the ladies, but rather an effort to create buzz and potentially land themselves in full-time roles on the upcoming third season of The Valley.
“Beef for The Valley hahahaha they [are] desperate,” one person wrote.
“I think it has more to do with the Valley picking up filming soon and who got a spot and who didn’t, or trying to create drama so they get screen time … We know these two live to self-produce,” another alleged.
“If it’s on the internet, it’s true, right?” he laughed. “I woke up today, the first thing I saw from my good dear friend, Jesus, who you’ve met, [is] a text, he’s like … what’s up with you and Lala? And then he sent me a screenshot of this [rumor]. And then I got another text from somebody else, another article, rumors abound today that we’re dating.”
“I won’t even lie, Schwartz,” Lala admitted. “Since the podcast that you did, my podcast, I’ve had some dreams. And I wake up [like], what the f*ck?”
The Valleyseason three is currently in production.
Scheana Shay hinted at where she stands with Lala Kent after she allegedly failed to post Scheana’s new memoir, My Good Side. The Vanderpump Rulesstar also revealed their conversation after the book’s release.
In the book, Scheana said she hid her husband Brock Davies’ past affair from friends and family. But right before the book’s release, Scheana gave Lala a heads up. The co-stars have remained close since their firing from the show, though it seems there may be a crack in the friendship.
Reports have also surfaced that Lala and Scheana are taking on greater roles in the new season of The Valleyafter Jax Taylor’s exit.
On her Scheananigans podcast, Scheana hinted at her status with Lala after the new memoir.
“I don’t know that I lost any friendships, but it definitely put some relationships into better perspective, I will say that,” shared Scheana, via @breakingtherulespodclips on Instagram.
A fan then asked, “Are you and Lala still friends? Why didn’t she post anything about your book?”
Scheana answered, “So I think it was like maybe a week after it came out, I saw she posted a slide and just said, ‘@scheana.’ There was nothing else that she posted. I had reached out to her a couple days after all of the [PR] boxes were delivered because … you do expect your closest friends to post and support, and I sent everyone a really nice PR box. I’m sure you guys saw some others who posted it.”
“And I reached out and I was like, ‘Hey, did your box come? Because you know, I hadn’t seen it posted yet and I just wanted to make sure I didn’t need to reach out to the publisher to be like, hey, Lala didn’t get her box,’” she continued. “And [Lala] said that her brother and her mom deal with the packages and that she would have them check. But then a week went by and the box didn’t get posted. So I’m assuming she got it because she posted the book @scheana.”
But Scheana claimed she and Lala, as well as their daughters, are “still friends.”
“We were close and good friends and it’s very sad,” Sandoval said of the end of his friendship with Billie on the October 23 episode of Everybody Loves Tom. “You feel like you trust somebody and you feel like you have a friend who’s open and honest and real with you and you find out this whole other side and it makes you sort of pull into your shell.”
Reflecting on Billie’s tangent against him and Victoria, Sandoval said her claims were “so frustrating” because they painted Victoria in a negative light.
“It’s so f*cked up for her to create this character,” he stated.
“I haven’t even been able to speak and she’s already created a narrative of who I am,” Victoria agreed. “It’s like, ‘Nobody knows you but I’m going to paint the narrative of who you are.’ And that’s the first thing that everyone hears … [But] I’m not gonna let some person that’s hurting on the inside, or whatever’s going on with her, paint the narrative of my life and who I am because that’s not who I am.”
Although Billie suggested that Victoria was a drug user, Victoria said she’s simply a woman who drinks socially, having drinks at events and, of course, Sandoval’s bar, Schwartz & Sandy’s.
Even Sandoval said that he’s been doing much less socially than he has in the past.
“In like 20-plus years, this is the least that I’ve drank, gone out,” he shared. “I’m much more responsible and I think it took taking that eight months off of drinking. I needed a reset. I never planned on never drinking again. I was just taking a break.”
Looking back on the moments that followed the reveal of his affair with Rachel “Raquel” Leviss, 30, Sandoval recalled Billie initially being Team Ariana before contacting him and helping him around their home.
He then said that she lied about having to give up friends and having lost friends due to their closeness.
“She didn’t lose any friends. People in general were always a little scared of Billie because she would use the trans card,” he explained, giving a nod to her past claims about Jax Taylor, 45, and Bravo.
As Sandoval grew closer to Billie on the heels of “Scandoval,” she propositioned him about being a sperm donor for her potential child. And, at the time, he told her he “would consider” the idea.
In the months that followed, Sandoval began dating Victoria and learned that Billie had been telling people that they were having a child together.
“It freaked me the f*ck out because I know how reactive Billie can get. This is somebody who has been close to me during this time, who can sell stories and get blah, blah, blah. [So] I’m scared of what she might f*cking say,” Sandoval admitted.
After then telling Billie that she wasn’t ready for a child due to her financial position, Sandoval and Victoria began to notice that Billie was creating drama between the two of them.
“It became very invasive and where the falling out came from, I’m hearing all these things being said about me to my friends,” Sandoval explained. “She reached out to my friends and said, ‘You haven’t seen Tom lately because he’s drinking every day.’ It’s like, f*cking ridiculous. I don’t do drugs recreationally. I don’t do that shit. Music festivals, yeah, mushroom trip every once in a while but I don’t do that sh*t and I sure as f*ck ain’t dating somebody who’s doing that either because we wouldn’t vibe then,”
“We found out there were a lot of lies, and we found out they were all coming from her,” he added.
When a someone new joins the Vanderpump Rules cast, you don’t usually expect them to last. But when Ally Lewber was not only introduced as James Kennedy’s new girlfriend, but an astrologer, I knew she would be two steps ahead of everyone else. Her presence both as an oracle and a compassionate spiritual adviser has filled a void within the reality show that desperately needed filling, as its sometimes messy and impulsive cast members are not exactly known for considering the future when making decisions in the present. But with Lewber’s sweet and cosmic wisdom gracing the screen, viewers were suddenly encouraged to analyze the drama with a more empathetic eye.
She and James began dating in 2022, making their first public appearance together at the iHeart Radio Music Awards. For some, the announcement may have seemed sudden, as it unfolded just six weeks after his breakup with the infamous Rachel Leviss (a.k.a. Raquel), his ex-fiancée. But if you’re someone who understands astrology, you know that timing is never a coincidence. And in Lewber’s case, it was life-changing.
Lewber’s sudden rise to fame in the Bravo world and in the astrology realm could be seen as her very own Cinderella story. Before meeting James and becoming a permanent fixture on VPR, she was seriously considering moving back to Ohio, where she’s originally from. She felt the need to go inward and reconnect with her true self, away from all the partying and clout-chasing associated with Los Angeles. But it was when she visited her own astrologer on her birthday that she realized a return to Ohio was not in the cards. Something much bigger was brewing for her, and the universe was about to prove that the glass slipper does, in fact, fit. In Ally Lewber’s case, the glass slipper was so much more than falling in love with the iconic “See You Next Tuesday” DJ just two days later. It was about being catapulted into a limelight that would establish her as both a well-known astrologer and a blossoming musician in her own right.
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Since her first appearance on season 10 of Vanderpump Rules, Lewber’s presence is proof that astrology can not only guide you toward making the best choices, but help you navigate tough social terrain. She not only survived the hazing process that all new cast members go through, but she immediately thrived. And as a fellow astrologer, I know exactly why. In a season 11 episode, Lewber unpacked the birth charts of fellow cast members Lala Kent, Scheana Shay, Katie Maloney, and Ariana Madix. This shed light on the core of their personalities, helping viewers understand the inner workings of why they act they way they act and how their lives are shaping up.
In the highly territorial and combative environment of Vanderpump Rules, it’s easy for cast members to become defensive and self-protective. One thing that sets Ally Lewber apart from other cast members is her ability to put her own ego aside and focus completely on the other person. As an astrologer, she acts as a mirror for whomever she’s speaking to, reflecting back at them their best qualities, but also the compassion needed to nurture the parts of them that are aren’t as easy to love. Lewber knows all about the power of astrology and the way it can help us understand each other and relate to each other. If we all saw each other more clearly, there would be a lot less fighting and brawling. And the best part? It’s just as fascinating to watch.
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Now that the “Girl’s Girl” singer is going through her Saturn return—a cosmic rite of passage that happens around ages 27 to 30—she’s currently stepping into a more mature version of herself. One way she’s doing that is by stocking up on top quality accessories, a fact exemplified by her partnership with Banter by Piercing Pagoda. Done with the days of wearing cheap chains that will eventually turn green, Ally wants her jewelry to reflect who she’s becoming—someone who invests in herself for the longterm. By wearing pieces from Banter—especially their zodiac-inspired pieces—she’s been able to do just that.
The future of Vanderpump Rules may still be unknown, but one thing is for sure—Ally Lewber isn’t going anywhere. Over Zoom, she tells StyleCaster all about her sudden rise to fame, her ongoing relationship with James Kennedy, and the way she has used astrology to navigate the set of Vanderpump Rules. She also dishes on other cast member’s zodiac signs, as well as what Tom Schwartz’s rising sign actually is:
Courtesy of Banter.
SC: What parts of your birth chart influence you as a musician and TV personality?
AL: My Pisces rising definitely influences my music. Since I was little, I was always surrounded by musicians, like my family. My grandpa was a professional drummer who toured all the time. My dad passed away, but when I was growing up, he was also a drummer. Growing up, the basement of my childhood home was like a whole studio, so there was always music happening, and I loved it. I always tell my clients who are Pisces risings, they need to have an outlet that’s either spirituality, music, art, or some type of healthy escapism.
As a TV personality… honestly, that’s a great question. I would say my sun-Jupiter conjunction in Capricorn is what has brought me more exposure and media attention. The conjunction sits in my 11th house of community and social influence. But to be quite honest, the rest of my chart is pretty introverted. I’m a Capricorn, which can actually be a pretty quiet zodiac sign.
SC: I think there really is something about Pisces and musicians too, because my dad’s also Pisces and he’s a lead singer in a band. I’m a Pisces moon and music is super important to me.
AL: I know! People are always like: “Oh, you’re doing music? That’s so random.” But that’s why I love astrology, too. Because it shows just how complex people are. You look at your birth chart, and it’s just like, all this mix of everyone, and we can all have multiple different things going on and multiple interests. But yeah, Pisces is totally that shape-shifter, that just kind of picks up different interests throughout their lives.
SC: Yeah, when I saw that you were doing music, I personally wasn’t surprised. Speaking of which, what zodiac signs would you assign to each of your new songs?
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AL: I’m a Libra moon, so I’ll give “Girl’s Girl” Libra. Oh, my God, but then “A Love Song” is a Libra too. No, wait—I’m gonna give “A Love Song” to the Pisces rising in me, because it’s kind of the “hopeless romantic” of the zodiac. But then again, part of me is also Capricorn moon, because that song is also saying, “Oh shit, I actually wrote a love song.” Like, I didn’t mean for it to be sappy and emotional. The Capricorn in me doesn’t want to show any emotion, but then the Pisces in me can’t help but do that.
SC: Oh yeah, of course, your “big three” is the most important part. How have your own personal experiences affirmed your belief in astrology? We believers all have our stories.
AL: Right before meeting James, Jupiter was in Aquarius, is my 12th house of subconscious and dreams, but also the house of endings. And because Jupiter expands whatever it touches, I was actually considering moving back to Ohio for a while because LA was getting so expensive post-COVID. Rent was going back up, and I was just trying to drink less and stop going out. Of course, I had my LA friends, but I just didn’t feel like the city was fulfilling me and I wasn’t feeling healthy. So I decided that I’m picking my yoga back up and I’m gonna hunker down and go full on astrologer. It was just very a “Jupiter in the 12th” experience, you know? I was like, Leave me alone. I’m going to go feel my emotions.
Then, Jupiter finally entered Pisces and activated my first house of the self. I actually saw my astrologer on my birthday, which is January 13. And I was telling her that Jupiter has felt really heavy in my 12th house, and I’m thinking about going back home to Ohio and resetting before coming back out to LA. Immediately, she was like, “You’re not going to move home.” Deep down, I always knew that I wasn’t really going back to Ohio. But the Capricorn in me wanted to be realistic. My astrologer said, “No, you’re about to fall in love, you’re about to be on TV,” and I was like, “Nina, no, I need to figure out my career. Like, what am I doing with my life? No more fun. That’s not what I’m trying to do. She was like, “No, you’re about to have so much fun, you’re about to fall in love, you’re going to travel the world.”
Two days after that reading, I met James, and things really did start to pick up. And as Jupiter continued to transit my first house, I decided I was going to be open to opportunities instead of fighting the opportunities, and everything just really took over. It was really one of those things where I was like, astrology is crazy. And it still blows my mind every day.
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SC: I love it. When I first saw you on Vanderpump Rules and learned that you were an astrologer, I was thinking to myself, Oh, she’s going to have no problem. She’s going to be one step ahead of everyone else, because she understands astrology, and we all know that knowing astrology is like knowing the secret of the universe. You can use it your advantage and plan accordingly. So I would love to know if and how you did use astrology to navigate the tough terrain of Vanderpump Rules.
AL: the first season was difficult, and I can look at the transits all day and know you’re still meant to live your human experience and learn from it. At first I was almost trying to fight it. My heart wanted to be with James, do the show, be open to the opportunities. And then the more analytical part of me was hesitant, knowing this could get really messy. But beauty of astrology is that we’re meant to experience all the weather. But by the second season too, astrology did help, because I knew everyone more and I got everyone’s birth time. With the cast, what you see is literally what you get. They’re all very much a good representation of their big three and their birth charts.
But one wild thing happened when love planet Venus went retrograde. It was during season 11, when we got our dog Graham back—now named Hippie—and Venus was retrograding through James’s sixth house was, which is the house of pets. But I wasn’t even thinking about pets! I was thinking Raquel—or Rachel, whatever—is probably going to come back, because Venus retrograde is a notorious time for coming back in. But then getting our dog Hippie back like that was the most mind-blowing literal representation of Venus retrograde in someone’s sixth house. He literally got his ex’s dog back into his life.
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SC: As you continued filming and dating James, what synastry—or astrological compatibility—did you notice affecting your relationship?
AL: I love my synastry with James. I think it really is so literal. I have a Capricorn sun, but my Venus, Mercury, Mars, and Uranus are all in Aquarius. So, I technically have a stellium in Aquarius. And he is an Aquarius sun, but he has a stellium in Capricorn. And let me tell you, James loves being an Aquarius. And I always joke with him that I’m more Aquarius than is he. But as a Capricorn sun, I admire his work ethic and his natural Capricorn abilities, and I think my Aquarius stellium loves how authentic, original, creative, and outspoken he is. But then we also both have Libra moons, so I love that. We also have opposite lunar nodes, which could be good or bad, but I do love it, because I feel like we were just destined to be.
James also has Venus, the planet of love, in his first house of the self, which is so apparent, because he really wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s charming. My Venus is in the 12th house of spirituality, so like, I’m much more, like I’m a lover in a deep way. I’m not always comfortable really sharing that with other people. But we can find balance together.
SC: Totally. I feel like you have such a balancing affect on him. And I feel like he’s just got become a better version of himself since meeting you. So, I mean, we have a couple minutes left, I’d love to ask you about your partnership with Banter. How has wearing jewelry helped you through difficult times in astrology, particularly Banter jewelry?
AL: This is probably the Capricorn in me, but I’m a very “less is more” type of girl, I guess. I honestly wasn’t really into jewelry until my Saturn return started. I feel like because Saturn’s is in my first house, this experience has made me want look more mature. I’m ready to invest in quality pieces that represent me, and not just whatever is trendy right now on Amazon, because I do love to do that. But investing in better pieces, and I just love Banter. I’m wearing this right now, but they have so many simple and cute pieces. They have an evil eye charm, and they have crystals, or your zodiac sign, obviously. And I like layering them. I don’t have tattoos, and you know how people have their zodiac signs, and it’s always just a fun topic to discuss? I think that jewelry is a good way to still feel like I’m representing myself expressing who I am. But yeah, I do think Banter has really good quality and unique pieces that you don’t really find at like, a store on Amazon.
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SC: I was looking through Banter’s jewelry as well, and I was also really impressed with the cosmic energy of their collection.And I love that necklace that you’re wearing too. I already have some tattoos, but I would totally get that necklace.
AL: My mom is very prim and proper, and I’m, I’m like, “Mom, it’s my Saturn return. I’m a Pisces rising. I’m definitely going to come out of this with tattoos.” And she was like, oh my god, no. It’s just funny, because I feel like I’m slowly getting there. I do want to feel like me, you know? And now that I’m going through my Saturn return, I’m trying to find my own style and voice. I’m coming into who I am.
SC: I love that you brought up your Saturn return. I would love to hear what advice you have for people going through their Saturn return or about to go through their Saturn return—people born with Saturn in Pisces or Saturn in Aries. What do you say to them, as an astrologer going through it yourself?
AL: This this sounds so cheesy, but I think just being aware that it’s your Saturn Return is already good enough, in my book. I think it’s when we don’t know that it’s happening that it becomes really difficult, which is most people. You know, like our parents. I’m sure my mom didn’t know she was having her Saturn return, and you know, that it was all a part of life. But I think our generation has so much information at their fingertips now, and we get to know that we’re going through our Saturn return. We know we’re going to be tested, and if we listen to and obey Saturn, we’ll succeed because he wants us to succeed. He wants us to be the best. He’s the planet the that’s really pushing us to kill it in life. So just listening, going with the flow more, and then also just being open to the fact that your life will look different when it’s over. I know that I’ll look back on my Saturn return and be like, Oh my God. Like, thank you Saturn, you know? Your life should look different. There should be change. We should just be more open and excited and open to his gifts, because Saturn can bring gifts too.
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SC: I love that. I think Saturn gets a bad rap, but I kind of think of him like that really intense football coach that’s screaming at us, making us do another lap or another pushup, telling us to keep going and not give up. I want that. I want that coaching.
AL: I always say he’s the Olympian coach and you have to want to the gold medal. So far so good, no complaints. but I’ll keep you updated when my Saturn return is over. I guess I started my professional astrology practice before my Saturn Return, but I did start doing music during my Saturn return, which feels very Saturn in Pisces of me. I think of Saturn as the “dad” of the zodiac, and my dad was a musician. So I do feel it’s almost like a passing of the torch. My confidence has gone up, which I think comes with becoming more mature as we get older. I think in our early 20s, we’re all insecure and just like, What are we doing with our lives? And I do now feel like I’m getting a sense of purpose and direction.
SC: I’m also excited to see what you’re up to once your Saturn return is over. Speaking of your professional astrology practice, do you also happen to have any like interesting takes on the astrology you share with other Vanderpump Rules cast members?
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AL: I love Katie so much, which is so funny, because we’re very different. Like me, Katie’s a Capricorn sun and a Pisces rising, but she’s an Aries moon. We’re are similar in that we could sit there and have a conversation for like hours, but our exterior probably looks different. She says it how it is and has more of that Aries bluntness, where my Libra moon can be more passive and “people pleasing,” and wanting everyone to, like, get along.
Lala’s astrology is also super interesting. She has such a beautiful chart, and she was always destined to be famous. Same with James’s chart. Actually, Lala and James both have Jupiter in 10th house of public image, and I think Lala has it in Leo, and which is interesting, because she started with acting. I love looking at their charts, because it’s like—it doesn’t really matter what route either of them go. They were always destined to be seen for their talents in some way.
I think I have good synastry with Scheana. Ariana and I also have good synastry; we have a lot of the same placements. I just like the way we both activate each other’s charts, but in a different way. Our relationship on the show is so exposed, but ours is much more layered and like. She has her moon in the eighth house, I believe, and a lot of sixth house placements. So we can talk about, like, mental health, astrology, and things that are just a little more like under the surface. Whereas Scheana’s chart is very playful and fun, and she kind of brings out a more social version of me, if that makes sense.
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SC: Well, that scene in which you were giving all the girls birth chart readings was like, one of my favorite scenes in Vanderpump Rules ever. It totally helped me understand them. Like, you said Lala has Pluto in the first house. I was like, Oh, my God, that is so accurate. That totally explains her intensity. It made think of her totally differently. The producers should have brought an astrologer on sooner, but I’m glad they didn’t, because you were the first to get there and analyze this wild bunch.
AL: That is wild. And thank you for saying that. Because this stuff is just so fun. We could have sat there all night talking about their charts. It just shows how everyone is so different. And then Schwartz, like he’s the biggest Libra of all time. Like, he’s proof that astrology is real.
SC: Everybody is obsessed with Schwartz’s chart. I’m obsessed with Schwartz’s chart.
AL: Yeah, he’s a Cancer rising. Obviously that makes sense too.
SC: I didn’t know that that. Thank you for telling me that. I had no idea what his rising sign was. That is so cool. It really does makes sense.
AL: Tom Sandoval is also a Cancer sun, so he’s just like, right on top of Schwartz, right on his first house of the self.
SC: Yeah. So I want to ask a fun and controversial astrology question before we wrap up. Are you more of a whole sign houses girlie or a Placidus girlie? And do you like traditional rulerships more or modern rulerships?
AL: I’m a whole sign girlie. I studied Hellenistic astrology, which is the most ancient one. I also think it’s fun to look at the other house systems though.
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Once again, we have all been Jaxed. In new court documents obtained by Page Six, Vanderpump Rules and The Valleystar Jax Taylor is claiming that he and Brittany Cartwright were never legally married. That’s right, a whole season of TV plus a murder mystery dinner party in the Kentucky Castle, all for naught! In the filing, Taylor also gave Cartwright full physical custody of their son, Cruz. According to the documents, the couple’s only shared asset is their home (and shooting location) in Valley Village.
Cartwright was the first to announce the couple’s separation, in February of this year. At the time, Taylor was emphatic that the pair were not divorcing. Which may be true? If they were never technically married. This is the second VPR marriage that turned out to not be legal. In the same season when Jax and Brittany got married, Tom Schwartz claimed that he’d failed to file his marriage license to Katie Maloney when they wed in 2016. It’s beginning to seem like what we see on reality TV…might not be the full truth. What else is a lie? is Lance Bass even ordained?
“It was right after I’d announced my second book, Off With My Head … I was asked by a producer to come back, and I had to really think about it,” Stassi revealed on the October 1 episode of the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast. “We kind of argued about it.”
Ultimately, however, Stassi decided that because she’d seen success outside of Bravo, it wasn’t in her best interest to return.
“I walked into this meeting being like, ‘You know what? No.’ Because I’d seen the reaction I got from my second book. And I had seen that, like, you know what? My career, I think I can keep going and do it on my terms,” she explained.
But when she arrived at the meeting, she learned that her potential return to Pump Rules may not have been a possibility at all.
“[The producer] was like, ‘Oh, by the way, I take it back. I didn’t get approval yet.’ It was a really messed up situation … It was like a mindf*ck,” she recalled, saying that if she had decided to return, it “would’ve killed [her]” to be shot down.
Although Stassi did not want to return to Pump Rules at that time, that’s not to say she didn’t consider returning to reality television in another way.
“It’s something that’s been part of my life since I was, like, 16. It’s always been something that I did, so of course it was always something that was on my mind. But I wasn’t going to do it unless it felt fully right,” she explained.
Four years after her firing from Pump Rules, which was prompted by racially insensitive behavior toward Faith Stowers, Stassi has married Beau Clark, 44, welcomed two kids, Hartford, 3, and Messer, 1, and announced her official return to the small screen.
“I’ve had to work on things. I didn’t just get offered things. I had to work on them myself,” she noted.
As for where she stands with her former castmates, Stassi confirmed she’s “still close” with Lala and Katie.
As for Scheana?
“I run into Scheana. Scheana and I have never been besties, but I run into her,” she revealed. “There’s always a kid’s birthday party. So much time has passed. I’ve been out of their filming world for so long and you have to try — when they’re not in their filming world, everyone’s a lot more relaxed and normal. So I don’t have that constant fighting or whatever. I’m just bringing my kid to a kid’s birthday, and we’re just talking about normal sh*t.”
As humans, we are deeply flawed. We will lie, cheat, and steal…but most of all, we’ll watch any sort of gruesome reality show because we crave drama that isn’t our own.
Growing up, I remember my mom watching The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. I knew about Lisa Vanderpump before Vanderpump Rules entered the chat. But I never understood her fascination with a bunch of women fighting on-screen…until I got older.
Last year, I attended Summer House’s Danielle Olivera’s app launch party, where most of the cast was in attendance. After spending the night unknowingly surrounded by Carl Radke and Lindsay Hubbard (the night before the end of their engagement), Paige DeSorbo and Craig Conover, and more…I had to find out who the hell these people were.
Now, at 26 years of age, I’ve pored through most of the Bravo catalog myself. I’ve caught up on Summer House, the majority of the Real Housewives franchises, and I was there for Scandoval.
Reality TV has taken over since the Writer’s Strike brought show production to a grinding halt and it’s finally catching up to us. After a slow summer of barely any new scripted shows, it was time to fixate on reality.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives aired on September 6 on Hulu. And at first glance, it seemed like a tell-all documentary about the horrors of Mormonism…but actually, it was a reality television show about crazy Mormon women who founded “#MomTok” on TikTok.
Everyone’s watching, but honestly…this isn’t the finest Mormon television I’ve seen. If you’ve already watched The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives and can’t get enough of the “Bad Mormons,” then here are a few shows that are just as shocking.
The Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City
I think the real reason I wasn’t utterly shocked by The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives was because prepared for it by this show. Because, sure, there’s nothing scarier (I mean better) than a bunch of 20-something Mormon women making TikToks…until you’ve met a group of disgraced Mormon women double their age with double the drama.
In terms of reality television this show has been through everything in only five seasons: Jen Shah, now imprisoned for fraud, Monica Garcia, who ran an anonymous gossip account about her fellow housewives, Meredith Marks, who has a strange Transatlantic accent…I could go on.
Constant drama, mentions of Mormonism, and many quotable moments, this show makes The Secret Lives look like child’s play.
Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey
If you want more of a documentary ( shockumentary?), then watch Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey on Netflix. All about the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints cult that’s led by Warren S. Jeffs (from jail!), you’ll hear all about the male-dominated, polygamist group in this tell-all docu.
The series documents the physical, psychological, and emotional abuse of young women in the FLDS, with a focus on the survivors who have safely escaped. There are mentions of child abuse, sexual assault, and more, so be cautious when viewing — this content may not be safe for everyone.
However, if you want the dark truth about some sectors of the Latter Day Saints sect, this is a good start.
Under The Banner Of Heaven
A mixture of fact and fiction, Under The Banner Of Heaven stars Andrew Garfield and Daisy Edgar-Jones. It follows Detective Jeb Pyre as he investigates the murder of Brenda Wright Lafferty and her daughter in Salt Lake Valley. Along the way, Pyre (Garfield) starts to uncover the truth about the LDS religion.
It’s one of Garfield’s best roles (and yes, I’ve seen his Spiderman) as he grapples with his faith while investigating a major murder. It blends fundamentalism, ethics, and the Mormonism in a way that has you questioning what’s real and what isn’t.
Based on Jon Krakauer blockbuster of a novel, it’s a great fictional take on the FLDS that will have you binge watching the entire show in one night.
Hofmann faked documents relating to the Latter Day Saints religion, including letters “from” Joseph Smith, Lucy Mack Smith, and David Whitmer. When Hofmann was close to getting caught, he set off three bombs across Salt Lake City, Utah to kill three people.
It’s a bizarre tale that turns deadly, but is an easy binge watch for you and your friends.
Lala Kentrevealed the terrifying moment when her newborn Sosa “turned purple” amid the delivery as nurses “freaked out” and called for backup.
The Vanderpump Rules star gave birth on September 3. Lala shared that she used a sperm donor. She also has a three-year-old daughter Ocean, whose father is Lala’s exRandall Emmett.
On her Give Them Lalapodcast, the star opened up about the fast labor and delivery.
“During my second-to-last push, [my obstetrician] kind of stands up really fast, and he’s fixated on the monitor,” said Lala, via Page Six. “And he’s making eyes with the nurse who’s reading things to him that I clearly don’t understand cause I’m not a doctor. And he looks nervous.”
Lala then asked if things were okay, and her doctor responded, “Yep, I just want you to keep pushing.”
She later found out “the [umbilical] cord was wrapped around [Sosa’s] neck a couple of times,” though the doctor “didn’t let [her] know that” and “stayed calm.”
“She comes out, they put her on my chest and I go to hug her — you know, embrace my baby — but the way that the nurse is acting with the baby … and she’s not crying. She does one cry and then it stops,” said Lala. “And my hands are freezing, so I’m like, ‘I’m not touching her because I don’t want to send her into shock.’”
She recalled that the nurses started “rubbing her chest” and also “sucking things out of her mouth.”
“For mama, it was great that she came out so quickly cause I didn’t have to push very many times, but with a fast birth like that, she swallowed a lot of amnionic fluid,” said Lala.
“[She] had so much fluid that she was vomiting all the food she had,” she explained, noting how the nurse “freaked out” and called for backup after noticing that the baby “turned purple.”
“They then bring in a specialist, and they’re like, ‘We want a surgeon to look at her cause this isn’t normal, and we got 10 milliliters of amnionic fluid out of her stomach the first time, then we got another eight, then we got another however many milliliters,” she said. “And they go, ‘And now we’re draining it through the nose, and it won’t stop.’ And they said, ‘We’re either going to have pediatric surgery deal with it, or we want to keep her in the NICU.’”
At the time, Lala was “beside [her]self,” asking, “What the f–k?”
Though the pregnancy itself was “perfect,” Lala “started feeling guilty” as she wondered what she did during her first pregnancy that she didn’t do with Sosa’s.
“I started crying, and they were like, ‘You did nothing wrong during pregnancy; we’re just a little confused,’” said Lala, who explained that her daughter is now “fine.”
After sharing that she was happy to see that the scandal surrounding her and Tom Sandoval‘s affair had launched Ariana’s career, Raquel, 30, shaded Ariana’s character, revealed if she’s hoping to reconcile with Scheana Shay, 39, and shared something “gross” about Tom, 42.
“I think the part that irks me the most is the way that [Ariana] went out of her way to dehumanize me at the reunion,” Raquel shared of “Scandoval” on the September 17 episode of Rachel Goes Rogue. “It really propelled more hate my way and death threats and things that were not necessary, because I already had a lot of shame surrounding it and a lot of people shaming me already.”
“It’s very telling to her character,” she added.
Still, despite her criticism, Rachel praised Ariana for her success since the scandal.
“Honestly, I’m really happy Ariana is living out her dreams. She always wanted to be on Broadway,” said Rachel. “She’s always been obsessed with Love Island. So, the fact that she’s a host of Love Island is pretty epic. I’m just happy that Scandoval was able to really launch her in the direction that she’s always dreamed of.”
When a fan questioned whether she’d say, “Hi,” to Scheana if she ran into her, Raquel confirmed she’d already run into her “twice” before noting that she would not want to interact.
“I don’t have a desire to speak to her, and clearly, she doesn’t have a desire to speak to me. So that’s not going to happen,” she shared. “I just don’t think that there’s any type of conversation that I can even comprehend. There’s no point in having a productive conversation with somebody that you don’t want to have a friendship with anymore.”
“[I have] no desire to reconcile with Scheana,” she further clarified.
As for what’s “gross” about Sandoval, Raquel recalled her former flame sweating off his self-tanner.
“This may not come as a shock to all of you guys, but Tom Sandoval does love his Loving Tan self-tanner, and he will wear it and sweat it off, and he doesn’t care what it looks like when he sweats it off,” she revealed. “[It’s] just kind of gross and funny.”
Just moments ago, the Vanderpump Rules. star confirmed she has welcomed her second child.
“Welcome into the world, my love,” Lala wrote in an Instagram Story on September 4 before confirming that her daughter was born a day earlier, on September 3.
The 33-yr-old Bravo star had previously announced her pregnancy back in March, as she wrote on Instagram, “I’m expanding my pod,” along with an adorable photo of herself and 3-yr-old daughter Ocean who she shares with ex-fianceRandall Emmett.
Lala later revealed that her baby was due on September 1 which is the day before her own birthday.
The podcast host, who has been open about her decision to use a sperm donor for her second baby, recently discussed a health scare she suffered on a recent Give Them Lala podcastepisode as she got quite emotional.
“My arms and legs went numb, and I could not breathe, and [it] took everything in me to not pass out and just make it to my bed,” said Lala on her podcast. “I was trying to yell for my mom, but again, I was really struggling, and I was very, very concerned.”
Even worse, the health scare took place at her home while she was hosting a baby shower.“I don’t don’t know what happened. I’ve heard that she could be sitting weird, but I felt this overwhelming amount of guilt because I’ve been complaining a lot about my [body] aching and just wanting it to be done,” she shared holding back tears.
Luckily, her mother was at the baby shower, and she was able to call the doctor who told her to start staying off her feet and to start taking it easy.
For the time being, Lala has yet to reveal the name of her baby.
Raquel Levisssuggested Bravo is preparing for upcoming Vanderpump Rules spinoffs and claimed they have the “budget” for it. She also shared her theory behind Lala Kent’s recent announcement about her friendship break with Katie Maloney as well as a rumor she heard about a full reboot.
After a bizarre season in which half the cast barely interacted with the other, Pump Rules reportedly went on hiatus — with some sources claiming it may not return. One rumor suggested that the entire cast will eventually be replaced by actual servers from Lisa Vanderpump’s restaurants. The show’s recent spinoff, The Valley, had a successful first season and is now filming its second.
On her Rachel Goes Rogue podcast, Raquel addressed Lala’s recent declaration about her friendship with Katie.
“There’s no reason for Lala to be friends with Katie at this point if they’re not filming a show together,” said Raquel. “I don’t know why she needs to announce it. That’s, like, in classic Lala fashion.”
According to Raquel, she believes the reason Lala was okay with announcing the end of her friendship with Katie is because Lala has been offered a permanent spinoff opportunity, likely on The Valley.
“I think she’s framing for announcements yet to come,” Raquel explained. “And you know that NBC and Bravo have the budget for that. They’re like, ‘Yeah, let’s do all the spinoffs.’”
Raquel also suspects that while Lala and Scheana Shay will move on to The Valley, Bravo will likely offer Ariana Madix and Katie their own spinoff based on their sandwich shop Something About Her.
As Reality Blurb recently reported, Lala and Scheana have both been spotted filming for the upcoming season of The Valley.
Raquel also theorized that if Bravo launches a spinoff for Something About Her,Vanderpump Rules won’t return with the same cast, adding that she heard “through the grapevine” that the network was planning a full cast reboot for the series.
“If that’s the case, Vanderpump Rules is definitely not coming back unless they’re recasting with a whole new cast, which is, you know, what I heard through the grapevine,” said Raquel.
“For the second time on his podcast, he has said that he does not want me or Lala to join The Valley because it would be disrespectful to the current cast, and, like, no one wants us,” she said at the time. “And I’m, like, actually, Jax, I just think you don’t want us. If we did a poll, these are all of our friends. You’re afraid of me and Lala being on the show because we’re gonna call you out for the s**t we actually know.”
She went on to say, “When the whole concept of The Valley was coming to fruition, Jax and Brittany were the ones that were, like, we want you and Brock in it.”
The Valley is currently filming. Both Lala and Scheana have been spotted filming for it in some capacity.
After Tracy, 49, also praised Lala Kent, 33, stating that she “brought it” to season 11 while Ariana, 39, was seemingly unwilling, Katie, 37, shaded her fellow Bravolebrity as Ariana offered a response.
“You have a responsibility when you sign up for a show like this to show up and be accountable, vulnerable, and aware. And if there are certain people that aren’t willing to do that, then perhaps it’s time for them to make a decision to walk away from the show, or for the network to say, ‘You know what? If you can’t give anymore and you have all these boundaries that are now in place, then maybe it’s time for you to move on from the show,’” Tracy shared on the August 13 episode of the LadyGang podcast, via The Bravo Investigator on Instagram.
Although Tracy claimed she was “not speaking to anyone directly,” she acknowledged that her comments related to Ariana’s status on Pump Rules.
“I very much understand and relate to what Ariana has been through. I’ve been there myself. I totally get it. But maybe it’s no longer the best avenue for you and maybe it’s your time to say, like, ‘I’m signing off,’” she continued.
“She’s got a baby to raise. She’s going to have another one … She’s a single mom. And with all due respect, she brought it this season,” Tracy noted.
While Tracy didn’t seem to think that Ariana had brought enough to season 11, she admitted that it must have been tough for her to return to production so soon after learning that her then-boyfriend, Tom Sandoval, 42, was having an affair with her former friend, Rachel “Raquel” Leviss, 29.
“Ariana literally was cameras down for like 10 minutes to process what the f*ck she just went through on live, national television watched by millions and millions of people. And they were like … ‘We’re going to start shooting in three weeks,’” Tracy recalled. “Mind you, for all of us by the time it aired, it had been months. So, we’re like, ‘Get over it.’ She did live that. She had to put cameras up a month after the [show’s] finale. That must have been incredibly hard for her.”
“Perhaps, at this point, maybe she is ready to move on. She’s incredibly talented. She’s a gifted actress. That’s her wheelhouse. She can do other things,” Tracy suggested.
But Katie didn’t agree.
After Taste of Reality shared a headline about Tracy’s comments on Instagram, she weighed in.
“Shut up,” Katie stated.
And after seeing that her co-star and co-owner of Something About Her had clapped back at Tracy, Ariana praised Katie’s post with a post of her own.
“Queen,” she deemed Katie.
Vanderpump Rules season 12 is currently on pause ahead of its 12th season.
