Pass the tissues and tequila! Your favorite couple split, you lost your drinking buddy, and a baby
daddy cheater got the boot. Heartaches to tough brakes, it's the dark side of "Vanderpump Rules."
Longtime fans of the show
have watched couples hook up, break up, make up,
and break up once again. But the one couple viewers were really rooting for was Tom
Schwartz and Katie Maloney. The fan-favorites made it official with a wedding in Season 5.
But after three years of marriage, Katie filed for divorce in March 2022. With fans
already speculating that the two were on the rocks, Katie explained on Instagram,
Tom shared his own thoughts, posting to the platform,
"I just, honestly, want to throw my hands up and just walk away. Maybe I'll move back to
Florida and open a little tiki bar."
A source shared with People that the couple had different ideas for their
future. Katie told the "Relations— with Kamie Crawford" podcast that
she was keeping things private and ignoring the press, adding,
Lala Kent ended 2021 with a
media firestorm after it was discovered that her longtime fiancé and baby daddy,
film producer Randall Emmett, had cheated. The two got together when Randall cast Lala in a
movie. Lala kept his identity a secret on the show, letting everyone wonder who was funding
her lavish lifestyle. After a few years of dating, the couple got engaged in 2018.
By 2021, Lala gave birth to their daughter, Ocean.
But just nine months later, the two called off their engagement. And soon after that,
rumors of Randall's infidelity started to buzz. Lala revealed on her podcast,
"It's not just one person, it's many. I believe it started after I got sober."
Despite the relationship drama, Lala appears to
be focused on raising her daughter. As she posted to Instagram in March 2022,
Alcohol is clearly a major
influence in many of the plotlines of this series. Whether it's Stassi's iconic line…
"I'm not really sure what I've done to you, but I'll take a Pinot Grigio."
…Or the infamous Witches of WeHo wine, there's been plenty of drinking done on
the show. But for James Kennedy, alcohol worked very much to his detriment.
SUR's resident DJ's drinking severely impacted his entire life. Fans will
remember the convo between him and Lisa Vanderpump when she fired him, saying,
"James, I want you to grow up, now, and pull yourself together.
You are responsible for your actions and you will be held accountable."
Eventually, James took responsibility. After an ultimatum from his ex-girlfriend Raquel,
he got sober, telling E! News,
Scheana Shay has scrolled
through relationships faster than anyone on "Vanderpump Rules." She was briefly
married to Mike Shay, and dated a variety of other men on the show.
"This f—--- marriage has been tainted since day one."
Scheana has always been very open about wanting to settle down and start a family. And sadly,
her plans were detoured when she suffered a miscarriage. As she shared on her podcast,
"I didn't know how bad I wanted this, until I had a little taste of it and then it was just gone."
But Scheana didn't give up on becoming a mother. And in 2021 she gave birth
to her daughter Summer Moon, whom she shares with her hubby, Brock Davies.
"Vanderpump Rules"
matriarch and "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" O.G., Lisa Vanderpump, made her life an open book
for Bravo fans for more than a decade. But on Season 9 of "Real Housewives," Lisa shared
that her brother had taken his own life, by drug overdose. As she shared on the show,
"I know my brother well enough to know my brother
didn't mean to do this. It was a cry for help that went horribly wrong."
Lisa spent much of the season mourning the loss, exiting early the following
season amid PuppyGate and a blowout with her longtime best friend Kyle Richards.
Charli Burnett joined
the cast as a waitress at SUR, and was immediately swept up in the drama. She
shared in a since-deleted Instagram post in 2020, that she had gained 45 pounds, noting,
The star was determined to make a change to her health and wellbeing, and started bodybuilding.
After entering an NPC contest in 2021, she walked away with multiple medals, posting:
It appears that Burnett is now fostering a healthier
balance in every area of her life. As she posted,
Though she's no longer part of the cast, many fans
credit Stassi Schroeder with making "Vanderpump Rules" the cultural phenomenon that it is.
"Let's just talk s— about people or something. Because that would make me feel better."
The best-selling author grew up in New Orleans, and in 2005, her life was upended by Hurricane
Katrina. Stassi's childhood home was destroyed, temporarily displacing her family. The Schroeder
gang had recently competed on "The Amazing Race: Family Edition," with a friend explaining,
Since being fired from "Vanderpump Rules" in 2020, Stassi welcomed her daughter,
got married, and published her second bestselling book, "Off with My Head."
Another iconic former star
of the show is Jax Taylor. Say what you want about him, but no one can deny his Bravolebrity status.
Jax took seemingly unending issue with the people in his life;
both his co-stars and his family. Jax and his mother even stopped
communicating after his father died of cancer in December 2017. Jax shared on the show,
"I used to be very close to my mom. Everybody's like, 'I love your mom. I love your mom.'"
Revealing that he and his mom hadn't spoken for six months,
he alluded to the fact that she kept him in the dark about his dad's worsening condition.
"Towards the end, my mom would say, 'Oh, he's fine.' We didn't know he
was in ICU. I would have been there in a heartbeat if I knew he was in ICU."
These days, Jax still keeps fans up to date on his life,
sharing photos of his son Cruz and wife Brittany Cartwright on Instagram.
It's impossible to discuss
the drama on "Vanderpump Rules" without mentioning Jax Taylor several times.
Jax is remembered for his many relationships on the show,
most notably with his future wife Brittany Cartwright. The two are now happily married
and raising their son Cruz together. But the dynamic between them hasn't always been so
full of joy. In Season 6, much of the show's storyline revolved around Jax's infidelity.
And he admitted to cheating on Brittany with former SUR employee Faith Stowers.
"You did have sex with her?"
"Yes it's true."
"Rot in hell."
Many fans, including "Watch What Happens Live" host Andy Cohen,
questioned Brittany's decision when she chose to stay in a relationship with Jax
after the truth came out. Copping to her own roller coaster of emotions, she revealed,
"I was loving him, I was hating him, I couldn't stand to be around him,
and then I wanted him to be, like, right beside me all the time."
The couple worked through their issues — on air and off — and traveled to Brittany's home
state of Kentucky to tie the knot in 2019. While Jax has teased a move to Clearwater,
Florida on Cameo, as of 2021 the family is still living in Los Angeles.
Reality TV has long been criticized
for being anything but real. But the stars of "Vanderpump Rules" have proven that what they
share on camera is pretty close to the true story. And that also appears to be the case
when it comes to the details of their mental health journeys. Series star, Ariana Madix,
has opened up about her struggles with multiple mental health disorders. And
throughout her life she has experienced disordered eating, anxiety, and depression.
"I've learned to manage my depression by focusing
on things that I love. And I've always really loved hosting and cooking for people."
She appeared on Scheana Shay's podcast,
sharing that she is now in recovery regarding her relationship with food.
"I've grown in literal size, but I don't care as much."
Revealing that she made her debut on the show while battling an extreme eating disorder,
she says over the years she's learned how to better manage her emotions around it.
"Those things still pop up, you know? But I think it's a lot healthier now."
Perhaps in the hopes of inspiring others in their own journeys,
Ariana also mentioned that she is now much more open to sharing about her mental health.