Scheana Shay has revealed that a key scene in the “Vanderpump Rules” Season 9 finale was staged by several cast members—but it was for the good of the show.
The veteran Bravo star made the claim in her new book, “My Good Side,” explaining that the move was made as a way to ensure the reality show would be picked up for a 10th season.
Not only did “Vanderpump Rules” get a 10th season, but the original cast returned for an 11th season in the aftermath of the Scandoval cheating scandal.
Scheana Shay Revealed Who Was In on The Idea to ‘Fake a Fight’
The “staged” episode in question was titled “Engagement Party Crashers.” At the time, then-couple James Kennedy and Raquel Leviss were celebrating their engagement with friends and family with a weekend getaway at a winery in Santa Ynez, California, in the summer of 2021.
But a side storyline featured Shay and her fiancé Brock Davies plotting to piggyback on the weekend by secretly exchanging vows that same weekend. The final scene had Lala Kent telling Kennedy about the plan to turn the engagement weekend into a wedding weekend for Shay and Davies, and it culminated with a full-on blowout among everyone. Kennedy, especially, was furious and even kicked Davies out of the party.
In a July 2025 interview with Us Weekly, Shay admitted, “We absolutely scripted that finale.”
“[Lala and I] pulled Ariana [Madix] and Katie [Maloney] aside, and we’re like, ‘OK, we’re going to show up and do our job, but we’re not going to tell production that we’re going to fake a fight. Production won’t know we did that until this comes out,’” she claimed. “That was a one-off and the only time we faked something. It was desperation over wanting to save our jobs and get another season.”
Lisa Vanderpump Has Said That ‘Vanderpump Rules’ Is Not Scripted
Bravo
Last year, former “Vanderpump Rules” star Jax Taylor claimed that the show was indeed scripted. “Show me a scripted show, and I’ll show you [expletive] ‘Vanderpump Rules,” he said in a video obtained by Page Six. “Scripted! Scripted! I’ve been on this show for nine [expletive] years … this is scripted,” he added, before noting that “Seasons 1 through 6 [were] organic; it was real.”
Series star and executive producer Lisa Vanderpump told Entertainment Tonight that Taylor’s comments weren’t accurate. “I think it’s absolutely ridiculous to say ‘scripted.’ Nobody can write a script like ‘Vanderpump Rules,’” she said.
In November, Bravo announced a complete reboot of “Vanderpump Rules” with a new cast of SUR employees for season 12.
