Stassi Schroeder Returns to Her Throne With 'Vanderpump Villa': "I Am a F*cking Great Reality TV Star

Stassi Schroeder walks into a bar, but it's not the Stassi Schroeder you'd expect. A past version of the former Vanderpump Rules star may have thrown drinks across a table while scheming to backstab her enemies. However, during a brisk April morning photoshoot at Manhattan’s Silver Linings Lounge, Schroeder is professional and reserved—all traces of season 1 Stassi gone.

“I am a role model to my kids. I have to think a little bit more before I speak,” Schroeder says. “Sometimes I do get in my head a bit and think, are people going to watch me again and be like, ‘She's not the same, she's a little softer’? Well, if that's the criticism, I'll take it, because I can't be a monster forever.”

As soon as we begin to chat, though, the funny and boisterous Stassi that became a breakout Bravo star all those years back peeks through. She’s just a little bit more refined these days—less onscreen meltdowns and bar brawls, more strategic snide remarks and hosting prowess. The latter will be put to the test on season 2 of Hulu’s Vanderpump Villa, airing May 8.

A true reality TV veteran, Schroeder expertly poses with little direction from the photographer. She sits in a booth as chic as its occupant, and a gray-charcoal wall matches her vintage pinstripe Saint Laurent skirt suit and a tufted blue velvet sofa the same color as her piercing eyes. There are French fries and diet Pepsi on hand, because, vibes. Between flashes, Schroeder jokes about Meghan Markle’s jam. (She’s a huge fan of the Duchess of Sussex, albeit a little miffed about not receiving the PR for her brand, As Ever). She also asks for a side of her preferred condiment—ranch, of course—but settles for ketchup. Her stans know that ranch is a hallmark of her brand, a main character on Bravo, tbh.

Schroeder's foray into reality TV started with The Amazing Race and Queen Bees before she joined the cast of Vanderpump Rules in 2013. The show followed servers at Lisa Vanderpump's West Hollywood restaurant, S.U.R., where Schroeder and her co-workers, friends, and love interests exhibited sometimes toxic, always entertaining dynamics that solidified Pump Rules as a Bravo juggernaut for 10 seasons.

“We had nothing to lose. We didn't know what we were doing the first season, which I think is what made it so great. We were just being ourselves,” Schroeder says, reflecting on the authenticity of the O.G. cast. “Even some of the first few scenes that we shot, I remember just being like, This is going to be such a boring show. All we do is just fight with our boyfriends. I didn't realize that people want to watch that because they relate to that."

Schroeder quickly grew popular for her biting one-liners—“I am the devil and don’t you forget it”—establishing herself as TV royalty alongside some of the greats, like Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, and Lauren Conrad. In 2020, Schroeder was let go from Bravo and took five years off from television to do some growing. She got married to her husband, Beau Clark, and welcomed two kids, their daughter, Hartford, 4, and son, Messer, 1. She also penned two New York Times-bestselling books (Off With My Head andYou Can’t Have It All) and was early to the podcast boom with "Stassi."

Yes, the Vanderpump Rules spinoff The Valley came across her metaphorical desk, but after friendship fallouts and starting a family, the show didn’t align with the future she had planned for herself: "The idea of doing that filled me with dread. I don't care what the price is. Sometimes you can't be bought."

Unlike her club-going days of Vanderpump yore, at 36, her life now consists of early dinners, casual drinks, and an 11 p.m. bedtime. "I can't be expected to remain the same person I was throughout my 20s. Having children fully changes you, growing up and aging changes you, and COVID changed all of us," she says, acknowledging she's a fan of The Valley, despite passing on the opportunity. “[I] love to watch it—big fan. It's so good because it's the most toxic, but I don't want my life to be that."

After the inaugural season of Hulu’s Vanderpump Villa, Schroeder was asked to star in season 2 as the resident guest with her family and Vanderpump, with whom Schroeder has remained close over the years. So, she packed her bags—all six of them, stuffed with meticulously crafted looks—and headed to Orvieto, Italy to live in a castle with her husband and two kids.

The Hulu show, led by Vanderpump, is sort of a Below-Deck-meets-Vanderpump-Rules format, with live-in staff members who cater to the guests. This season, those guests include the TikTok famous cast of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives and athletes from the Paris Olympics. Vanderpump tasked Schroeder with keeping the mischievous staff in line, and Schroeder says the cast’s behavior felt eerily similar to that of her VPR castmates, which understandably evoked some nostalgia—and anxiety.

“I have no room to talk—but maybe I do because I literally have done everything you're doing right now,” Schroeder says of watching their relationships play out. “I have been in the toxic, shady relationships. You're literally living my past right now. I tried to give advice without sounding condescending because I really have been there. Listen to me, I get it, girl.”

Despite doing her best to protect Grown Up Stassi, being around that toxicity awakened Schroeder’s dormant, self-coined, “dark passenger” persona during her birthday episode. The now-viral tattoo gate saw her and Clark get into a heated argument (after many Aperol spritzes) about a tattoo he got in honor of his half-sister Georgia, and his refusal to get one for Schroeder. The night ended in Schroeder storming off and removing her microphone, something she says is a big no-no in reality TV.

“The next morning you're just like, I don't want to get out of the bed. I don't want to see people. I was so fucking embarrassed,” she says. “The dark passenger bubbled up. I don't know if it was because I was just in the land of toxicity, I am triggered when it's my birthday, or just having my friends there and feeling the pressure for everyone to have a good time.”

She says a huge challenge with reality TV is having to relive those moments—good and bad–months later. But Schroeder and Clark have a strategy: give the kids to their nanny, pour a glass of wine, and view the footage together. “It sucks knowing everyone is going to see it, pick it apart, and have their opinions, but also, it is what I’m used to. I’ve literally spent most of my adult life on reality TV, having people dissect every move that I made and everything that I said,” she says, maintaining that the fight wasn’t even about the tattoo. “My skin is so thick nowadays that [reliving the experience] is more uncomfortable with me and Beau. Like ‘Hey, we're over this, right?’”

Silly fights aside, her kids loved their Italian getaway. Hartford thrived in front of the camera, and Schroeder says she begged for air-time, prompting an adorable on-camera tea party with Vanderpump, Hartford, and Theodore "Teddy" Sabo (Vanderpump’s grandson).

"I wasn't allowed to be in the shot because it would distract her, so I was watching from a monitor, and then I heard she had to go to the bathroom,” Schroeder says “So, I took her to the bathroom and when we came back they had already wrapped the scene and she's like, ‘Where are the people with the cameras? Can you tell them to come back?’ I'm like, ‘Oh my gosh, is it in your blood?’”

During this season’s reunion, Schroeder traded in her previous spot on the cast couch for an Andy Cohen-size seat at the head of the group, where she offered advice, comedic relief, and perspective on some of the season’s most arduous situations as the reunion host. She says being in the driver’s seat with a lot of moving parts, like questions, cue cards, and an ear piece, was nerve racking for someone who is used to being on the other side of the equation. “My heart fell into my butthole,” she jokes about being asked. But did she like being in the position of power? “No, like, honestly, yes.”

“This is the ultimate fucking multitasking job. I don't know how Andy Cohen does it all the time,” she says. "I've studied Andy while I've been sitting there every time.” Already, Hulu has expressed interest in tapping her for more hosting gigs.

Her turn on Vanderpump Villa only marks the beginning of a comeback. Up next, she's gearing up to star in a Hulu docu-comedy series titled Stassi Says, which she'll produce. Per the show’s logline, Schroeder is “the anchor of a fresh ensemble of comedic and chaotic characters who are dealing with identity crises and major life crossroads of their own." Those characters include her sister, Georgianna Aubin, plus Beau’s half sister, Georgia Bardetti, and their friends Taylor Strecker, Taylor Donohue, and Rob Evors. With this upcoming project, she's feeling herself. “I don't have that many talents but I am a fucking great reality TV star. It is what I'm good at, and I feel really comfortable doing it.”

Beyond reality TV, Schroeder has an idea for a scripted fictional project, but I’m sworn to secrecy after she shares the concept with me: “You can't tell people! I don't want anyone to steal it." What I will say is that she’s a smart business woman, and the idea would be a sure-fire hit for viewers (like her) who love period pieces and historical fiction.

When I ask who she thinks is the next torch-bearer of reality TV, offering examples like The Traitors’ Gabby Windey and Summer House’s Paige DeSorbo, she admits that she doesn’t watch much reality TV these days. “Or is it you?” I offer. She smiles: “Fuck it. It's me, I’m back. You know who's carrying the torch? Me and Kris Jenner together.”