Lala Kent, Scheana Shay, Katie Maloney, and Ariana Madix on ‘Vanderpump Rules.’ Casey Durkin/Bravo
Scheana Shay and Lala Kent don’t have any plans to reach out to — or make amends with — any of their Vanderpump Rules costars after the show’s surprising cast overhaul.
During the Friday, November 29, episode of Shay’s “Scheananigans” podcast, the pair were asked by guest cohost Janet Caperna how they planned to interact with their former cast members now that they weren’t returning to film season 12.
“I don’t think I will change anything that I have been [doing],” Shay, 39, admitted. “I text Ariana [Madix] here and there. I ran into Katie [Maloney] at a festival, but I’m not going to reach out more [or] reach out less.”
Shay is happy with where she currently stands with everyone, adding, “I’m just going to continue doing what I’ve been doing because show or no show, all of these people have been in our lives for so long. So it’s like, ‘When I see you, I see you. And when I don’t, I’m living my life.’ I’m just going to continue on the same path I’m on and excited for new adventures.”
Kent, 34, found herself in the same headspace as Shay.
“I’ve got my circle right where I want it to be. It’s not that I for some reason am forgetting all of the bad stuff that happened. I’m sure other people have not,” she noted. “But I don’t think I need to reach out to anybody. I’m happy in the space that I’m in.”
According to Kent, the entire cast has felt the same way. “It truly seems like everybody is [happy]. Maybe not [Tom Schwartz and Tom Sandoval],” she continued. “I think the next chapter of their life [after Schwartz & Sandy’s closure] is going to be like one to look forward to. I’m glad that this one’s ending for them as well.”
Season 11 created tension for the Vanderpump Rules stars as each person chose sides following Sandoval, 42, and Madix’s split. Initially, Madix, 39, received support from nearly every costar while Sandoval — who had an affair with then-costar Rachel Leviss — only had Schwartz in his corner. The dynamics changed, however, when Madix refused to film with Sandoval for the entire season.
Kent was a notable critic of Madix’s approach.
“I’m going to be real about Ariana. She coasts through every single f—king season. And we are asking you to have one conversation with Tom Sandoval — the guy you shoved down our throats for so many years,” Kent said on an episode of the Vanderpump Rules After Show in May. “That guy, who you still live with. We are asking you to have one conversation and you can’t do that?”
Madix addressed Kent’s claims at the reunion.
“Arguably, if you want to talk in show terms, me walking away from that conversation was a lot more interesting than me sitting there and having it,” she said at the season 11 reunion. “Was that not a better ending to your season? To give you another season for another paycheck?”
Amid the cast divide, Bravo put season 12 on pause before announcing on Tuesday, November 26, that an entirely new cast would take over.
“That was the hardest season I’ve ever done in my life,” Kent added on Friday. “But everyone was feeling it. No one wanted to be there. I think that was the other thing. I’m like, ‘There’s no more story.’ But also there’s such a vibe when cameras pick up and we’re all just like f–king ready to go. We’re ready to make great TV.”
She continued: “No one wanted to be around each other. No one was having fun. There was a story line that understandably, Ariana was like, ‘I don’t want to talk about him.’ And I’m like, ‘And that’s fine. I really don’t either but there’s cameras here, so we kind of have to.’”
