It’s part two of the Vanderpump Rules reunion. Lala is still trying to understand things that have nothing to do with her, and Katie is just mad… pretty much the whole time. First, it was Lala coming at her, then the Scheana/Schwartz makeout gets brought up, and finally, Jo comes out to try and speak her truth. That doesn’t go so well, as Schwartz tries to gaslight Jo into thinking they were never a thing. James jumps in at the very end, proving that maybe he’s the number one guy in the group.
Things are going GREAT for Lala and Katie so far. Not… Lala is coming in hot, calling Katie out for acting differently off-camera. Lala reminds Katie that she had a lot to say about Ariana when the cameras were down, but when Lala tried to bring it up while filming, Katie wouldn’t bite. Katie claims she chose not to talk about it because she was “over it” and didn’t want to make Ariana feel guilty. And she was certainly not resentful toward Ariana, as Lala insinuates.
Schwartz points out that Katie was probably scared to not be #TeamAriana, but Ariana backs Katie by calling her 100% authentic. Ariana states that Katie is valid in her feelings, and Lala just misses the Katie who would also be a truth teller, delivering facts and having uncomfortable conversations. Lala felt like Katie was treating her like the enemy, but she believes they will be back to being good friends, even after this touchy conversation. When Andy points out that Katie looks p*ssed, Lala retorts, “Well, that’s standard….” And also an easy way to have Katie remain angry with you, Lala.
Because Katie was not mad enough, Andy decides to switch topics and bring up the make-out session between Scheana and Schwartz. To be clear, this happened YEARS ago, during a time when Katie HATED Scheana coming into the group. Scheana buried this secret because the last thing in the world she wanted was to hurt Katie. Schwartz apologizes to Scheana for coming on to her and for being a “sloppy, drunken fool.” If not for Scheana’s repressed memory of the evening coming to light during glamping, this would have stayed quiet.
Scheana stands by the fact that every guy in the group has hit on her. James denies it. Sandoval also denies it, however, Scheana’s got a LOT of details… Speaking of hookups, Katie’s revenge bang with Max gets discussed. Schwartz claims to have manifested this so he could show the world he was a bigger person in this kind of situation, but you know it’s killing him since Max is his bff. Katie plays coy when asked if she hooked up with Max a second time, so… she did?
The Lake Tahoe trip was NOT a “Sandoval redemption trip,” but rather a way to try to get the group together after the chaos of the past year. Schwartz gets questioned for calling Ariana the queen of the group, and Ariana believes that Schwartz is the ONLY person who thinks she has an ego. Just wait til she sees Lala go off about this in the finale episode…
Ariana understands where Scheana was coming from this season as she struggled to be loyal to Ariana but wanted to let Sandoval back in her life. Scheana desperately tries to show Ariana how much she means to her. Ariana’s boundaries are a hot topic, and Andy points out that Lala had boundaries in 2022 about communicating with her ex, so why was everyone giving Ariana such a hard time?
Lala says that the giant difference is that there was a child involved. Katie believes that Ariana is still allowed to have boundaries, but Lala doesn’t understand how Ariana can sleep in the same house as him, yet claim boundaries, especially after having a new boyfriend “10 days later.” Ariana reminds Lala that she supported her boundaries, and Lala doesn’t have to understand her boundaries, but she has to respect them.
The fan photo where Scheana has her arm around Sandoval gets brought up. Ariana admits that she was slightly uncomfortable, but not as uncomfortable as Scheana was when Ariana didn’t tell her she was going to be on Dancing with the Stars (Scheana’s DREAM position). Ariana says she remained tight-lipped because of production, and she was afraid that if she told Scheana, she may have been overheard. Andy makes a plug to have Scheana on DWTS and Scheana poo-poos it, as she has plans with her band… but maaaaybe next year.
Ally enters ready to read Andy’s chart, and Jo enters ready to be eaten alive by Katie. The whole Jo segment left me feeling uncomfortable since Schwartz refuses to call what they had a relationship when it very clearly was one. Schwartz and Jo met through Kristen Doute, but it’s strange how they connected… and how Jo wound up crashing at Schwartz’s when she could have asked her FRIEND Kristen.
Schwartz states that it started platonically, but it evolved into a sexual relationship, and he refers to Jo as “an escape.” Katie actually felt bad for Jo because she saw her situation with Schwartz very differently. Schwartz claims he never texted Jo that he loved her, but he really did say he loved her because he cared about her. Schwartz believes that he was transparent with Jo, but Katie believes that Schwartz was “displaying f*ckboy behavior.” Jo reaches for a tissue and nods as the girls talk about the disconnect. Jo points out that it’s sad to see there was a relationship, and it’s even sadder that Schwartz refuses to use the word relationship when discussing their time together, opting for the word “magic” instead.
Schwartz was scared to put labels on what they were, and Jo is hurt because she felt like Schwartz’s dirty secret, whereas he has hard-launched a new girlfriend now. No one is sure what to make of Jo. Ariana dislikes her because she believes Jo knew about Rachel and Sandoval, and Katie, well, Katie makes her opinion very clear. Katie claims she was so mean about Jo because she didn’t trust her, and she claims she used “colorful descriptors” when talking about Jo. Katie tells Jo it’s not about her, but Katie behaved that way toward Jo because of all she was dealing with. The last thing Katie needed was Jo… but that sounds like a Katie problem.
When it comes to James and Ally, they embrace the airport shade and embrace their role as parents to some cats and Hippie. Speaking of Hippie, Rachel came out to say that the dog’s bad behavior was a result of how James treated him as a puppy, but James states that Hippie has transformed since being home with him. Ally throws shade and says that the group hasn’t really inspired her to get married and have kids, despite James wanting it, like, yesterday.
Lala has been sober for almost five-and-a-half years, and she thanks Andy for acknowledging her sobriety. James hasn’t had a drink since April, and Ally shares that she didn’t like who James was when he was drinking. Ally actually moved out of the house for two nights (and no, she did not crash at Schwartz’s), and she states that if James were to start drinking again, she would leave.
According to Andy, the real star of VPR this season is Ann, Sandoval/Ariana’s assistant (no, it isn’t Summer Moon, much to Scheana’s chagrin). Ann decided to work for Ariana because she wanted to work with and for other women. Sandoval felt like he got kicked in his gut when this happened, but he wastes no time throwing Ann under the bus when it comes to “attempted dog murder.” Sandoval states that it could have been him OR Ann who left Ariana’s bedroom door open, causing their dog to eat something and get very sick.
In Ariana’s eyes, there is no doubt that the dog stays with her in this breakup. After all, she purchased the dog. This causes Sandoval to roll his eyes, setting off James. James points out that Sandoval was fine when Rachel took Graham from him, and he wonders how Sandoval had no problem with that then, and now, here he is making a mockery of the situation. Sandoval gets defensive, as he always does, and blurts out to James, “I’m keeping my mouth shut about the things I have heard” about him. James tells Sandoval that he is “galloping so far ahead of you I can’t even see you.” Touché, James.
