Lala Kent Talks Raquel & “Nightmare” Custody Battle With Randall

Credit: Shutterstock/Ovidiu Hrubaru, Jackson Lee/MEGA

Lala Kent and Katie Maloney are opening up about why Raquel Leviss should’ve returned for Vanderpump Rules season 11.

While attending Wednesday night’s Pump Rules premiere party at The Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, Lala, 33, and Katie, 37, explained why Raquel, 29, returning to the show would’ve been a “good” thing for her post-“Scandoval” as Lala also spoke of her “nightmare” custody battle with former fiance Randall Emmett, 52.

“I thought that she needed to come back to the group after dust had settled and people were willing to hear her out, make her amends in a calmer setting and then ride off into the distance,” Lala told Page Six on January 17. “It would’ve added an element of some sort of closure.”

“I wish that she would’ve come back. No one’s gonna care about Scandoval forever. This is gonna like at some point fizzle out, and then what do you go and do?” she wondered.

According to Lala, season 11 would have been “different than she [Raquel] thought it would be,” because the cast has calmed down following their heated season 10 reunion last March. That said, Lala would need Raquel to apologize for labeling her a “mistress” years ago before they could have an honest conversation with one another — and Katie feels the same.

“I don’t think anyone was like, ‘Dang I wish Rachel was here,’ but I think given everything that had went down, I think now that she’s got a podcast I think it would’ve been good,” Katie explained, admitting she was more open to filming with Raquel “than someone else,” seemingly in a nod to Tom Sandoval, 41.

“[She] should’ve just come back [to apologize and] … No one would’ve been upset if she came back,” Katie noted. “She had just as much as a place to come back as anyone else did. As much as Sandoval had a place to come back, as much as anyone.”

“I think if she was gonna eventually wanna tell her side or speak her peace, she should’ve just come and done that on the show,” she added.

Also at the Pump Rules premiere party, Lala offered an update on her custody battle with Randall, saying that while she would like to reach an end to the drama, they’re “still in it.”

“His side is just so chaotic and I don’t see resolution coming anytime soon,” Lala admitted, also to Page Six, describing their legal battle as a “nightmare.”

As Pump Rules fans may know, Lala has been fighting for full custody of Ocean since she and Randall split in October 2021 amid claims of his cheating, which he’s denied. And months ago, the film producer was hit with shocking allegations from his former wife, Ambyr Childers, 35, who claimed in court documents that he was being investigated by the FBI for “suspected child exploitation and pedophilia.” Randall was also spotlighted in a Los Angeles Times exposé, which accused him of acting inappropriately with women.

Although much was said about Randall, he denied the “disgusting and untrue” claims in a statement to Page Six.

Because Lala’s full custody request would allow her to feature Ocean on Pump Rules, she believes that Randall may be delaying the process because he doesn’t want her on camera. However, as she told Page Six, all she wants is the final say on their child’s education and health — not to put Ocean on the show.

“This is all untrue and we’re not commenting on it any further,” a rep for Randall fired back.

Despite being at a legal standstill, Lala is “absolutely” manifesting the best outcome.

“I think it will end and it will end in a fantastic way, better than I could’ve imagined,” she said. “That’s what we’re doing in 2024. My psychic medium told me this is my year for all things. We’ll see if that’s true!”

Vanderpump Rules season 11 premieres Tuesday, January 30, at 8/7c on Bravo.