Keeping up with #Scandoval. Many viewers of Bravo’s Vanderpump Rules were on their toes after the Season 10 reunion of the show. It’s not long until the next season will be filmed and we’re still in the shadows for who’s coming back for Vanderpump Rules season 11.
Season 10 of the hit Bravo show revolved around Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss’s affair after Tom cheated on his partner of nine years, Ariana Madix, with her then-best friend. Yes, Tom and Raquel were secretly seeing each other while he was still engaged to Ariana. The news broke in March 2023 and the Internet cannot get enough of this mess.
Ariana made a post on Instagram amid #Scandoval and thanked her friends for being her support group. “hi. where to begin? i want to express my most sincere gratitude for the outpouring of love and support i have received from friends, family, and people i’ve never even met in the last two weeks. when i have felt like i couldn’t even stand, you all have given me the strength to continue and seen me through my darkest hours,” she wrote. “to say i have been devastated and broken is an understatement. however, i know that i am not in this alone. so many of my closest friends are also grieving this loss right now and reeling from this betrayal on so many levels. i am so fucking lucky to have the best support system in the world and i hope i can repay every single person for the love you have shown me. what doesn’t kill me better run. love, ariana.”
Tom made his own Instagram post in March 2023 and apologized for all the damage he’s done. “I want to first and foremost apologize to everyone I’ve hurt through this process. Most of all, I want to apologize to Ariana. I made mistakes, I was selfish, and made reckless decisions that hurt somebody I love. No one deserves to feel that pain so traumatically and publicly,” he wrote. “I can only imagine how devastating this has been for Ariana and everyone around us.” He continued. “I feel really horrible about that. My biggest regret is that I dishonored Ariana. I never meant to disappoint so many people, including our loving families and friends.”
Though Raquel and Tom broke up on May 17, 2023, the tension, the despair and all things drama were ultimately highlighted among the cast in the VPR Season 10 reunion. But, will the cast return for Vanderpump Rules Season 11 and will there even be some surprise reunions? Read below on who’s confirmed and who’s hinting that they might indeed come back. In a new and interesting twist, Jax Taylor, Brittany Cartwright and Kristen Doute are all being considered for a spinoff series which will potentially focus on a group of friends who have left behind their hedonistic West Hollywood lives and are now concentrating on raising children in Los Angeles’ less-glamorous San Fernando Valley, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Here’s what we know so far.
Status: Confirmed.
Is Lisa Vanderpump coming back to Vanderpump Rules? Yes, Lisa Vanderpump is returning to her show for Season 11.
In an interview on Access Hollywood, Lisa said that she’s not eyeing to return to the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills because of her own show. “I’m opening two new restaurants this year. I’ve got Vanderpump Rules, I’ve got the dog foundation…I don’t think I would have time.”
Status: Confirmed.
Is Arianna Madix coming back to Vanderpump Rules? Yes, Ariana Madix is returning to Vanderpump Rules for Season 11.
In an interview with The Los Angeles Times, Ariana Madix confirmed that she would be down to get back onto the show, but would be very reserved and not interact with Sandoval and Racquel as she “just wouldn’t hang out with them.” “It’s not up to us who comes back,” she told the newspaper. “I’m just going to be doing me. Me doing me means they are not a part of my life.”
Status: Confirmed
Is Tom Sandoval coming back to Vanderpump Rules? It’s confirmed that Tom Sandoval will come back to Vanderpump Rules Season 11 but not immediately as he’s currently filming for another reality show — Fox’s Special Forces, per People.
Though the cast for Season 11 isn’t fully locked in yet, executive producer Alex Baskin confirmed that his and Raquel’s contracts are being renegotiated for the next season. “I think everyone’s wrapping their heads around what that might mean,” Baskin told Variety. “No one’s saying no, I’ll say that — but I think it’s hard for anybody to say yes right now, because they feel like they haven’t gotten any reprieve.”
Status: Not coming back
Is Raquel Leviss coming back to Vanderpump Rules? Racquel Leviss is not returning to Vanderpump Rules Season 11. Though, at the time of writing this, TMZ reported that Raquel is still not locked in. At the Season 10 Reunion, she told Andy Cohen on a one-on-one confessional. Though some of the cast has qualms with it. “I can picture [us filming together] because I’ve had to picture it,” Scheana Shay said. “That’s the name of the game. But I can’t envision what type of event that would be at, and it would have to be something Lisa Vanderpump hosts,” she explained. “[Because] they’re not getting invited to any birthday parties, that’s for sure.”
Ariana herself had something to say about filming with her ex-lover and ex-friend. “I have nothing to say to either of them,” Madix told the New York Times. “Our show is very real and follows a real group of friends, and neither of them are in the group of friends, so, good luck.”
In April 2023, Raquel voluntarily checked herself into a mental health facility amid #Scandoval. “Raquel and her family decided before the relationship was discovered that she would enter a voluntary facility for mental health counseling,” read a statement from the reality star’s rep. “Raquel had planned to admit herself before the VPR reunion was taped on March 23. She was scheduled to go in pre-reunion but decided she wanted to finish her filming commitment. Bravo and production were aware and in support of her journey towards better mental health.”
She re-entered the facility after the reunion.“Upon the completion of filming the reunion, Raquel entered a voluntary inpatient behavioral health and trauma facility and remains there to date — 68 days and counting,” an insider told Us Weekly. “Her treatment is helping her learn the basis of her decisions and to grow from her mistakes with the hope of making better choices and becoming a better person.”
On June 30, 2023, TMZ reported that Raquel was “in negotiations” for her return to VPR, but that Bravo was awaiting her exit from the mental health facility to be sensitive to her struggles. “Whatever terms they have already discussed, it appears none were deal-breakers, because the negotiations are continuing,” the tabloid observed.”
They also reported a source that said Raquel was leaving the facility “soon”, which would give Bravo the “green light” to negotiate. “The reality, if Bravo jumps the gun, makes a deal and brings her back too early, they could face legal peril if she backslides,” the gossip site reported, concluding: “A source connected to the show tells us production is ready when she is ready.” According to a source quoted in People, “Raquel’s family doesn’t want her to film, but the cast is betting she appears at some point.”
According to the LA Times, she was meant to come back but after the fallout of Scandoval, things got tricky for Raquel. “We had conversations with both her reps and her directly. Our first concern was how she was doing, and whether or not it made sense…personally, emotionally. She was very conflicted about it,” Executive Producer Alex Baskin shared. “There was, frankly, a lot of conversations about money. Her team was very clear that they felt that she should be rewarded. At one point, they raised the idea of her getting a development deal.”
Based on what she told Bethenny Frankel on her Just B podcast; “I just heard what you were saying on TikTok and using my case as an example of exploitation and the way that the network is running to the bank—like laughing, running to the bank with this scandal and I haven’t seen a single penny,” Leviss said. “I feel like it’s not fair and I feel like a toddler saying, ‘It’s not fair,’ but it really isn’t.”
She continued, “And I feel like I’ve been portrayed as the ultimate villain. My mistakes, that I’ve made on camera, live on forever. And you mentioned the addiction of doing reality TV and the way they always dangle that carrot in front of you telling you, ‘You need to tell your side of the story, otherwise it’s going to be written for you.’ And that’s terrifying. So, I almost went back just because of that.”
Leviss, who now goes by Rachel, will be launching her podcast Rachel Goes Rogue in the same month.
Status: Confirmed
Is Scheana Shay coming back to Vanderpump Rules? It’s most likely that Scheana Shay will come back to Vanderpump Rules season 11.
It was up in the air if Scheana was able to participate in the season 10 reunion, after Raquel filed a restraining order from her after she alleged that Scheana punched her in the face after learning about the affair. “Scheana will be present at today’s filming in person. Scheana intends to follow the law, but she wants to be part of the reunion,” her attorney, Neama Rahmani, said in a statement to Page Six before the reunion.“If Rachel attends, Scheana and Vanderpump Rules will make sure that Scheana remains 100 yards away to comply with the restraining order.” Both Scheana and Raquel attended the reunion.
Status: Confirmed
Is Katie Maloney coming back to Vanderpump Rules? Katie Maloney is returning to Vanderpump Rules season 11. In an interview with The Los Angeles Times, she talked about how her friends have her back and she would be willing to go on for another season. “I’ve got my friends. I’ve got [Ariana Maddix], I’ve got Lala. Me and Scheana are getting along. There’s enough to work with, and we have the sandwich shop. They’re all kind of the last thing on my mind. There’s so much great things happening and so much other stuff to worry about, it’s not for me to worry about how you fit into my life ‘cause you’re not in my life.”
Status: Confirmed
Is Tom Schwartz coming back to Vanderpump Rules? Tom Schwartz will be coming back to Vanderpump Rules for season 11 though he is taking a definite break from his business partner, Tom Sandoval.
“He made a big mess. And then you know, he left it for us to clean up back at the businesses,” he told hosts Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright on When Reality Hits with Jax and Brittany. “And it’s hard for me not to be resentful of him.” H “exploited me because, you know, I do love Tom and I took to heart everything he told me” about Madix.
On an episode of the podcast Stars on Mars, he talked about how #Scandoval affected him and how he’s taking a break from talking about it altogether. “It seems each time I try to weigh in or talk about, ramble on about it, drivel on, I inevitably sound like I’m somehow justifying it or making excuses for it, and I’m not,” Schwartz said. “There’s just no excuse for it.”
“Any sort of version of his side of the story has become obsolete because of the way he handled it. Ultimately, that’s his life. That is his life,” he added. “I did not have an affair. I am not him. It’s just so strange that I’ve been absolutely mired in this. It’s taken on almost a life of its own.” Schwartz finalized his stance and is now “stepping away from it permanently.”
“I don’t know what it’s going to look like,” Tom said of the upcoming VPR season. “I will say I’m excited and grateful that we have a new season,” per an interview with People. “I don’t know what to expect, honestly, but I know it’s going to be a good season. I’ll say that.”
Status: Confirmed.
Is Lala Kent coming back to Vanderpump Rules? Yes, Lala Kent will be coming back for the eleventh season of Vanderpump Rules. During the season 10 reunion episode, she joked about how the cast wouldn’t be phased by a bombshell during filming. “I do have a hard time believing it would shake us so much that we wouldn’t come back. I mean, we were so desperate to be on camera when we signed up for reality TV,” she said. “There’s not much that’s gonna make us run.”
Status: Confirmed
Is James Kennedy coming back to Vanderpump Rules? It’s confirmed that James Kennedy will be returning for the 11th season of Vanderpump Rules. He actually teased the drama of the Season 10 reunion episode. “Just watched part 3 of this reunion and let me just tell you,” he posted on his Instagram stories on June 6. “If you were thinking that you were over it or you were ready to forgive anyone, just watch tomorrow and you are going to get shot right back to square one.”
Status: Possible
Is Jax Taylor coming back to Vanderpump Rules? It’s very possible that Jax Taylor is coming back to Vanderpump Rules after a revealing interview with Rolling Stone. He talked about his ties with the cast and the show itself, “If they didn’t like me that much, they wouldn’t have had me on Watch What Happens Live or the Peacock show. I think the water is under the bridge with that. We had time to take a refresher, and here we are now. We all needed a break. I’m not upset or mad about how anything went down. It was actually good for my marriage, my son, and my mental health.”
When asked if he’s coming back for Season 11, he said, “We just can’t talk about it right now, unfortunately. I wish we could!” As mentioned in the intro, Taylor is one of three alums being considered for a spinoff series.
Status: Possible
Is Brittany Cartwright coming back to Vanderpump Rules? It’s very possible that Brittany Cartwright will come back for season 11 of Vanderpump Rules with her husband Jax Taylor. On why she left the show with Jax, she told Us Weekly, “Jax was kind of going through this phase where he was getting a lot of anxiety and stuff and I was too. It can be tough to have everything judged and you know, have to relive things years later and or you know, months later, whenever it airs.”
She added: “So, we look back now and Jax’s always like, ‘I took a lot of things for granted. I can look back and learn from my mistakes and, like, grow from there.’ I feel like us having that break, especially going through COVID, being pregnant, postpartum, all of that stuff, I’m so glad I didn’t have to deal with that on-camera.”
She teased about her potential appearance in the next season, “I don’t know, we’ll see.” As mentioned, Cartwright is one of the three VPR albums being considered for a spinoff series.
Status: No.
Is Kristen Doute coming back to Vanderpump Rules? It’s not known whether or not Kristen Doute is coming back to Vanderpump Rules Season 11. She came back in Season 10 after being fired in 2020 after calling the police on former castmate Faith Stowers in 2018 to implicate her in a crime she did not commit.
“I pulled [Ariana Madix] aside and said, ‘I’ll do this if you want me to do it. I have nothing to gain, and you may be very exhausted from having these conversations off-camera. I am very aware that I can look thirsty. I might look like an opportunist,’” Doute told Rolling Stone she said to Madix. “Being on Vanderpump for this one scene does me no favors, but if you need me there and you want this, then we’ll do it.’ And she was like, ‘I really do. I really want you to do it.’ So I said yes.”
As mentioned in the intro, Doute is one of three VPR alums being considered for a spinoff series.
