Bravo decided that it was time to reboot “Vanderpump Rules,” but one of the stars of the show already knew they weren’t going to return.
Ariana Madix was a very important part of the show for 11 seasons, but she realized that after the final season, it was time for her to leave.
“I don’t think I was ever going to go back to ‘Vanderpump Rules.’ That’s the first time I’ve ever said that publicly, but I was never going to,” Madix revealed to PEOPLE in a March 13 interview.
“It just didn’t feel right. Not in any sort of rude way, not in a professional, ‘We don’t need this,’ not in a, ‘I’m too good for this’, but it just didn’t feel right,” she explains. “If I did go back, I wouldn’t have been able to do the job that would make a good show. And so it just wasn’t going to make sense, the story didn’t make sense.”
Ariana Madix Has Prioritized Her Mental Health During the Break From Filming

When season 11 finished filming, Madix was able to really take some time away from the cameras and just focus on herself. Prioritizing her mental health made her very aware of one thing.
“I was never really made for reality TV,” she admitted to PEOPLE in the March 13 interview. “I don’t think I’ve ever been what makes ‘a good reality star.’ I think in some ways that’s what has made me a good reality star. But that being said, I think that a lot of times I got in my head.”
“That type of dialogue, I was having it in my head constantly filming nearly every scene, unless maybe I had a glass of wine,” she added. “That’s just not a good way to be.”
“I’ve also learned that maybe that’s not the best setting for me, and it’s not a setting that really allows me to be myself. And when you’re not being yourself, you get yourself into situations where you’re saying or doing things that you don’t really back or believe in,” Madix concluded.
Important Updates on Bravo’s ‘The Valley’ Season 2 and ‘Vanderpump Rules’ Season 12
On March 12, TMZ reported that Season 12 of “Vanderpump Rules” will begin filming in early April. The reboot will feature 14 cast members, some of which will be full-time while others will just be friends.
The only original returning member is Lisa Vanderpump.
However, some of the original cast members currently star on Bravo’s other hit show, “The Valley,” including Jax Taylor, Brittany Cartwright, and Kristen Doute. The official trailer was recently released for season 2, which will premiere on April 15.
“Vanderpump Rules” alums Lala Kent, Tom Schwartz, Scheana Shay, and her husband Brock Davies all make appearances throughout the season.