'VPR' Reunion: Tom Sandoval Slams 'Grooming' Claims, More Bombshells
The Vanderpump Rules cast reunited to hash out their season 11 drama — and all it did was create more division between everyone.
During the first part of the special, which aired on Tuesday, May 14, Ariana Madix, Tom Sandoval, Katie Maloney, Lala Kent, James Kennedy, Tom Schwartz, Scheana Shay and Lisa Vanderpump sat down to address the issues that plagued their friend group throughout the recent season.
Sandoval, 41, was immediately in the hot seat as host Andy Cohen brought up the aftermath of his cheating scandal with Rachel “Raquel” Leviss. Despite the ongoing division between the costars, everyone agreed that Rachel, 29, was the problem after she continued to discuss the controversy without participating on the show.
Although the Vanderpump Rules reunion featured plenty of back and forth, viewers have been more interested in where the cast stands since filming the special. There is also the fact that Bravo allegedly pressed pause on season 12 of Vanderpump Rules. Multiple outlets reported the news, and some of the cast members have subtly confirmed since then.
Breaking Down the Order 'VPR' Cast Members Forgave Tom Sandoval
Keep scrolling for the biggest revelations from the first part of the Vanderpump Rules season 11 reunion — and what it hinted about the dynamics in the friend group:
Tom Sandoval Slams the Grooming Accusations
The reunion started out with the cast discussing Rachel’s claim that Sandoval groomed her. She repeated the comment after Lala, 33, was the first to bring it up on screen when they filmed Vanderpump Rules last summer.
“She used the word ‘groomed’ which is beyond f—king slander considering she is not underage,” Sandoval explained. “That implies pedophilia.”
Lala disagreed with Sandoval’s perspective on the situation, saying, “It is taking someone who is younger than you and more impressionable than you and someone who is at a higher level of power than the other person.”
While reflecting on the origins of his affair, Sandoval stood his ground that Rachel was just as to blame as him. “I was very impressionable when she took all her clothes off and jumped in my f—king pool,” he fired back.
Lala ultimately said she wasn’t going to pass judgment since she wasn’t involved. “I am a projector. And I still have to catch myself,” she noted about how she related Sandoval’s behavior to her ex-fiancé, Randall Emmett. “Only Raquel and Tom know what was going on. He is going to see it differently. I tend to lean toward the chick a little more.”
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The Cast Comes for Raquel Leviss — and Mentions the Revenge Porn Lawsuit
After Sandoval called Rachel a “coward” for not returning to the show, his costars took turns throwing their own shade.
Schwartz, 41, who was aware of the affair before anyone else, put the blame on Rachel, adding, “I’ve witnessed it. She was just as conniving if not more so. She was ruthless in her pursuit of pleasure. She was not a victim in this.”
The topic subsequently changed to Rachel suing Ariana, 38, and Sandoval for revenge porn, eavesdropping, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Scheana clarified to Andy that neither Ariana nor Sandoval could weigh in on the legal drama since it was still ongoing.
“Ariana did not send that video to anyone. She wasn’t distributing it. It is so ridiculous that she is putting through this s—t again,” Scheana said as Ariana noted, “I have never done anything to her.”
Sandoval surprisingly showed support for Ariana as well. “It is one thing for her to come after me but to come after Ariana, I am questioning if she has a f—king soul,” he shared.
Tom Sandoval’s Problematic George Floyd Comments Are Brought Up
One month after Sandoval made headlines for comparing himself to O.J. Simpson and George Floyd, he attempted to clarify his initial point.
“Do I have to do a sales pitch on myself? I am not defending anything I said. I was just talking about the absurdity of the scandal,” he explained. “I just thought of big things in the news. Obviously they are parts of movements.”
Sandoval continued: “I am seeing the scandal sandwiched in between the war in Ukraine and some other s—t. This is stupid. Why is CNN talking about a cheating scandal on a guilty pleasure reality show?”
Lala jumped in to try to offer Sandoval’s point of view, saying, “It is a joke compared to what happens in the world.”
Despite not reading the entire article, Scheana’s husband, Brock Davies, shared his thoughts on the matter. “It was a clickbait and that is the problem. I am not paying for a subscription to the New York Times. I am reading that thing and that is what everyone else read,” Brock noted before Sandoval added, “No one actually even read the f—king article.”
Andy advised Sandoval to “fire” his PR team for the “bad article” while Lala asked Sandoval to “stop talking to people” for the sake of Vanderpump Rules. Later in the episode, Lisa even admitted that there was talk of changing the TomTom restaurant name because of the constant backlash against Sandoval.
Katie, 37, was one of the only cast members to put Sandoval in his place, saying, “There is a concept called intent vs impact. It doesn’t matter how you meant it, the problem is the impact it made. This is why you need to think before you speak.”
Lala Kent’s Updates on Her Family
While talking about her second pregnancy, Lala confirmed her custody battle with Randall, 53, over 3-year-old daughter Ocean was still ongoing. She also said Randall was “not around very often” when it came to his kids spending time together. (Randall also shares daughters London and Rhylee with ex-wife Ambyr Childers.)
Lala, who is expecting her second baby via IUI, teased that her dating life has been more exciting since she got pregnant again.
“The men are knocking now that I am knocked up,” she quipped. “My boobs are not going to be like this when I am not pregnant. I get really horny when I am pregnant. No man or woman is safe.”
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More Context to Scheana Shay and Brock Davies’ Emotional Anniversary Dinner
In unseen footage played at the reunion, Scheana, 39, opened up about her postpartum OCD.
“I don’t know if it is an intrusive thought or fear. I don’t think you and I are going to be together forever. Because I feel like one of us is going to die,” she told Brock in the clip about her concerns.
Brock also offered an update on two eldest kids, who he is still estranged from. He clarified that his ex wasn’t “keeping” his children from him but she communicated to him that they didn’t show interest in working out their relationship with Brock yet.
James Kennedy Calls Out Ariana Madix’s Relationship With Daniel Wai
During the special, James, 32, recalled feeling on the outs after his split from Rachel, which they confirmed at the season 10 reunion.
“When that breakup happened, everyone chose her side instead of my side. She was the It girl and me and Ally [Lewber] were the people that were around. It is what it was. I am over that,” he noted. “The question is why did Ariana have an easier time getting with Dan ten days after her [breakup] while I got with Ally two months after.”
Ariana, however, clarified she “met” Daniel after 10 days but it took “months” for them to start dating.
After Schwartz tried to offer his thoughts on James’ personal life, the professional DJ threw insults at just about everyone involved in Scandoval.
“Dude, [Schwartz] was f—king Raquel at the time. None of you knew about it. Then here comes Ally, my new girlfriend,” James said. “But no, it was [Scheana’s] best friend and she was at [Ariana’s] house 24/7 and [Sandoval] was getting your wee wee sucked downstairs. And you f—king knew about it. It’s just the facts. That is the clear line that was drawn.”
Sandoval’s Connection to Leonardo DiCaprio
Andy brought up Sandoval’s new girlfriend, Victoria Lee Robinson, and how she was previously linked to Leonardo DiCaprio. In response, James mentioned the custom wallpaper in Ariana and Sandoval’s shared house.
“One of the wallpaper pictures is Leo leaving the Chateau with a model in it. A tall brunette,” he said. “It is legendary.”
According to Ariana, she was the one who “picked” out the wallpaper.
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Lala Kent Outs Katie Maloney’s Private Messages Toward Her
Later in the reunion, Katie and Lala attempted to explain what led to their falling out. Their versions, however, didn’t seem to line up.
“It started because her and Scheana got close and Scheana and I were not in the greatest place,” Katie said before Lala added, “Here’s the difference. I treat my enemies like my enemies. But Katie and I have come a really long way so I want to choose my words wisely when I communicate with her. In the initial DM when she was upset about Scheana, what she put in there was extremely hurtful.”
Lala followed up by accusing Katie of sending a cruel message, saying, “She just talked about my custody battle. You said, ‘Get rid of your lawyers because what you need is a f—king therapist. You are a f—king clown.”
According to Katie, she did call Lala a clown but didn’t suggest a lawyer. Katie also suggested a therapist for Lala as a show of support.
Lala Kent Creates Division Between Katie Maloney and Ariana Madix
As Lala and Katie continued to get into it, Ariana became a topic of conversation. “I felt abandoned by you this season,” Lala told Katie, who fired back, “Why because I didn’t want to jump on the Tom train?”
Lala, however, said her issue was with Katie’s decision not to address things on screen. “We both had conversations about this … It was that [Ariana] basically abandoned you in this sandwich shop. This time last year you said she wasn’t caught up on her rent for the sandwich show,” Lala noted. “I know what I am talking about.”
Katie, who denied Lala’s version of events, admitted she did have certain frustrations.
“[Ariana’s Broadway job] was the one time I wish I had gotten a little bit of a heads up because I didn’t find out about the Broadway thing. I was like, ‘That would have been nice to know,” she admitted. “The issues I was having was because of my own insecurities.”
Lala followed up by accusing Katie of not being honest. “You and I are truth tellers. We say s—t how it is. So why when the camera goes up am I suddenly the enemy when I am talking about the same s—t we said on the phone?” she asked. “There were a few people here that were sitting in the comments section all the livelong season. Katie is one of them. Scheana and James.”
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Lala Kent Claims Her ‘VPR’ Costars Were Hiding Their Drama From the Show
“It is no secret that Ariana is a fan-favorite,” Lala said about why she thought others didn’t speak out as much during season 11. “You don’t f—k around with that.”
Katie stood her ground that she wasn’t speaking badly of Ariana behind her back. “I came to you because I didn’t want to go to her with that drama. I didn’t want to guilt her so I went to one of my other friends to vent about it,” Katie explained. “But if you are not one of the people I can confide in then I will go to someone else. I didn’t want to take it to her.”
According to Lala, she was on the phone when Katie “lost her mind” on her. Katie, however, fired back with claims that Lala wanted her to throw Ariana “under the bus.”
“I wanted to film a show and suddenly the name of the game is different,” Lala shot back. “You said, ‘I am not going to say these things because I invested a lot of money in this sandwich shop. If you are going to f—k with my business then I will f—k with yours.'”
Looking Ahead
In the trailer for the next installment, Ariana and Lala didn’t seem to be on the same page.
“I have always known your situation is different and I have always supported it,” Ariana said while arguing with Lala. “You talk louder than everybody until you are right.”
