Scheana Shay has mixed feelings about Ariana Madix potentially supporting Vanderpump Rules coming to an end.
During the Friday, May 17, episode of her “Scheananigans” podcast, Scheana, 39, answered a fan question about how Ariana, 38, appeared to vote that Vanderpump Rules is done in an Instagram fan poll.
“As her friend, I fully support her pursuing her dreams. I always have. I’ve said that multiple times,” Scheana noted. “It’s like if Vanderpump Rules and reality TV no longer serve her, then on to the next thing. She’s going back to Broadway. She’s doing Love Island.”
Scheana pointed out that Ariana was free to leave Vanderpump Rules if she didn’t want to film, adding, “She has so many amazing things lined up. I don’t even know what else is in the pipeline for her, but I’m sure many more amazing things. So if it’s time to move on, it’s like I completely get it.”
Despite Ariana’s surge of opportunities since Tom Sandoval‘s cheating scandal, Scheana wasn’t thrilled to see her voting for Vanderpump Rules to wrap up.
“As her coworker, if this is true, I mean, it’s kind of frustrating that she would advocate for the end of a work project that is a big part of my business and what Lala [Kent] and I as moms do to support our families,” Scheana, who shares 3-year-old daughter Summer with Brock Davies, said. “So that’s what’s tricky too with this show is our life is our job and our job is our life.”
Scheana ultimately remained conflicted about her feelings. “And as a friend, I understand and respect boundaries,” she continued. “As your coworker, there can be moments where it’s frustrating. So that’s how I feel about that.”
Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules was not only divisive to fans but to the cast as well. Three months after Sandoval’s affair with Rachel “Raquel” Leviss made headlines, the Vanderpump Rules cast reunited to document the aftermath. Ariana made it very clear right off the bat that she didn’t plan to engage with Sandoval in any way while filming the show.
Ariana’s costars — specifically Scheana and Lala — had other plans. They both offered Sandoval, 41, a platform for his apology tour and Scheana mentioned to Ariana multiple times how she didn’t want to close the door on a friendship with him.
The drama came to a breaking point during the season finale when Sandoval attempted to corner Ariana into a conversation. She refused and left the event where the cast was filming, which is when Lala broke the fourth wall to call out her issues with Ariana. Scheana, for her part, showed support for Lala, 33, and that continued into the first part of the reunion.
“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,” Lala said on the Vanderpump Rules After Show earlier this month. “That guy, who you still live with. We are asking you to have one conversation and you can’t do that?”
According to Lala, Ariana’s behavior didn’t just upset her. “Off camera, everyone was really pissed off about how she was maneuvering throughout the season,” she claimed. “No one wanted to talk about it. Then all of a sudden what Ariana says no one f–king questions. What?”
The cast divide has already raised questions about how season 12 will look. However, multiple outlets have reported that Vanderpump Rules won’t actually be filming this summer as expected. Instead the Bravo series is taking a pause before reconvening at a later date.
“I think this break is needed. Honestly, I think it is the smartest decision to not jump right back in to another season like we did after Scandoval. I don’t think enough time had passed. And I feel like if we gave it a little more time to breathe, things would have been a lot different,” Scheana noted on Friday. “But I don’t know, maybe we needed to jump back in as soon as possible to capture what was still happening.”
She added: “But for right now, after that reunion and how dramatic the season ended, and as you guys know, we all watched the last part of the finale together in front of each other for the first time, which was extremely emotional. I feel like all of us need a little bit of an emotional break.”
The second part of the Vanderpump Rules season 11 reunion airs on Bravo Tuesday, May 21, at 8 p.m. ET and is available to stream on Peacock the next day.
