Vanderpump Rules has had its fair share of drama over 11 seasons, but none were quite like Scandoval. In March 2023, it was revealed that Tom Sandoval cheated his partner, Ariana Madix, of nine years with a close friend and castmate, Rachel Leviss. Tom and Rachel had an affair for seven months behind Ariana’s back. Everything came to a head when Ariana became aware of the affair, broke up with Tom, and launched her revenge tour. Nowadays, Ariana is better than ever, but the same cannot be said for Vanderpump Rules.
The affair caused a huge rift in the cast. The once close and tightly bonded group of friends were now at odds with one another. The hostile environment made it nearly impossible to film a cohesive season, which could mean the end of one of Bravo’s top shows.
Scandoval May Have Ended ‘Vanderpump Rules’ For Good
After Scandoval happened, Vanderpump Rules fans wondered what was next for the show. Ariana Madix made her friends choose sides: continue being her friend or Tom Sandoval’s. All the while, Tom was busy figuring out the trajectory of his life and whether he had a future with his mistress, Rachel Leviss.
Because Ariana refused to speak to Tom, filming became incredibly hard for the cast. This was especially true since Ariana didn’t want her friends speaking to Tom either. With most of the cast not speaking to one or two people, group gatherings became intolerable.
Ariana Madix’s net worth is $2 million.
By the time Season 11 rolled around, there was so much toxicity and anger in the group that VPR became hard to watch. It was no longer a light-hearted reality TV series about a group of friends chasing their LA dreams. It became Tom and Ariana defending themselves, dissecting lies, and recognizing allegiances.
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Things became more chaotic when friends like Lala Kent and Scheana Shay changed sides and wanted to remain friends with Tom, despite initially being loyal to Ariana.
Considering how difficult Season 11 was, fans questioned the future of the show. How could a group of friends openly film together and have a good time if the chemistry was in turmoil?
Lala Kent was once Ariana’s biggest supporter after Scandoval. However, the more popular Ariana became, the more bitter Lala got. The two went head-to-head in Season 11 after Ariana refused to let Tom speak to her. Instead of respecting Ariana’s boundaries, Lala took issue with how Ariana was treating the show.
“[Ariana] now thinks she is Beyoncé. It’s bulls—.”
Lala continued to disparage Ariana on camera, which has since alterd their current friendship. “I never in my life experienced someone who gets cheated on and suddenly she becomes God,” Lala said about Ariana.
Ariana’s former best friend Sheana Shay had the same sentiment. Reality Tea reported that Sheana even went so far to say that the Executive Producer of VPR was frustrated with Ariana, reiteraterating that the cast had to bring something to the table to keep the show afloat. She insinuated that if Ariana didn’t have one-on-ones with Tom, the show’s future was at stake.
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More importantly, it’s unknown who would come back for another season. In May 2024, Andy Cohen explained the series was on a brief pause until production could find a way to salvage the cast. Andy said on Sirius XM’s Andy Cohen Live “Let’s put cameras down for four or five months and come back to them. And they will have lived life. Things will be different.”
Furthermore, Andy isn’t even sure Ariana would return for another season. According to The US Sun, Andy said, “I hope so” when a fan asked about Ariana’s return.
Ariana made a quick $1 million in a few short months off of endorsement and brand deals after Scandoval.
With so many question marks, Vanderpump Rules could be back for another season, but it’s hard to tell if it’ll be worth it.
Will Some Vanderpump Castmates Move Over To ‘The Valley’?
In 2024, Bravo released a spin-off to Vanderpump Rules starring former cast members Brittany Cartwright, Jax Taylor, and Kristen Doute.
The series followed their relationships in “the valley” of Los Angeles with their group of friends. Many view it as a grown up version of Vanderpump Rules as the cast is more focused on building families and their businesses.
Season 1 was a sensation and a second season quickly got the green light by Bravo. Because of the second season, and VPR being on pause, many theorize that a few VPR cast members will appear on The Valley once VPR is canceled.
Cast members like Las Kent and Sheana Shay are friends with members of the The Valley, leading fans to believe a small crossover is in the future.
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When talking about the possibility to E! news, Sheana said “We’ll see.” She continued, “The thing is with The Valley, these are my actual friends as well. This is my real friend group. These are more of my parent friends and Vanderpump Rules are more of my party friends.”
Meanwhile, According to E! News, Lala Kent told listeners of her podcast that while she lives in the Valley, she has not had talks with anyone about joining the series.
Lala Kent is currently single and pregnant with her second child after choosing a sperm donor.
Between a flailing Vanderpump Rules because of Scandoval and a thriving new spinoff, it looks like Bravo fans could soon say goodbye to popular series.
