Credit: Bravo
Lala Kent and Ariana Madix went head-to-head at the recently-filmed Vanderpump Rules reunion.
Following Saturday’s taping in Los Angeles, Lala, 33, appeared on The Talk, where she confirmed a report of drama between them before explaining her decision to offer grace to Tom Sandoval, 41, after his affair with Rachel “Raquel” Leviss, 29, and admitting to feeling relieved after what she described as a “purge.”
“I think the exact tweet was ‘Ariana eviscerated Lala at the reunion and it was friendship-ruining,’” Lala said of a message shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, on The Talk. “And only one of those things is true. I’ll let y’all decide.”
On X over the weekend, Bravo Babe alleged, “Rumor is that Ariana eviscerated Lala at the end of the reunion. Like friendship over type of situation.”
Rumor is that Ariana eviscerated Lala at the end of the reunion. Like friendship over type of situation. #PumpRules
— BravoBabe (@thebravobabe_) March 18, 2024
While it’s hard to say what it was that went down between them, it may have stemmed from Lala showing compassion to Ariana’s ex-boyfriend. As Pump Rules fans will recall, Lala and Sandoval had a heart-to-heart in Lake Tahoe, where Lala opted out of the ongoing hate directed at her castmate.
Lala was then seen saying that Ariana, 38, needed to pull her head out of her a**, which she doubled down on during her appearance on The Talk.
“I stand by everything that I said last season, even last season’s reunion, and I stand by everything I say this season. I’m in a different place than I was last year. ‘Scandoval’ ran very parallel with where I was in my heartbreak so I was out for blood. I saw a straight man and I was like, ‘I’m ripping you to shreds,’” Lala explained, giving a nod to her messy split from Randall Emmett, 52, the father of her three-year-old daughter Ocean.
Although Lala certainly spoke her mind to Sandoval after he cheated on Ariana, she made it a point to settle down ahead of filming on season 11 due to her plans for a second child.
“I knew I was going on this journey to potentially bring another child into the world and I just knew I needed to be soft, I needed to practice compassion. I appreciated when people did that for me. I would appreciate if someone did that for my daughter if and when she messes up tremendously,” she revealed.
Lala also discussed the Pump Rules reunion on the March 20 episode of Give Them Lala.
“It was very, very, very intense at the very end. It got very intense,” she shared. “When I push things under the rug, at some point, I say things that I can’t come back from and that happened at the finale of season 11, and that all is shown. I think people will really enjoy the reunion. It was just an intense, one of the most intense I think I’ve ever experienced.”
According to Lala, the season 11 reunion was “different” from season 10 because the fourth wall was broken.
“It’s a rare occasion that the fourth wall is broken and that happens, which I think the audience really likes. I know I enjoy it when I watch Housewives,” she noted. “It was intense in the moment … but I felt extremely relieved when I left.”
While Lala typically takes it easy after reunion tapings, she and some friends went mini-golfing after, and she had a “good cry.”
“After this reunion, it was emotionally draining in the moment and I probably obsessed for like, maybe an hour after it and then just sheer relief,” she described. “When you have a purge like I had and then everyone gets to see it and then you’re asked if you would change anything and you get to say, ‘I stand by everything I said,’ it’s like, the truth is powerful.”
“It’s a weight lifted off and I left going ‘I don’t give a f*ck what anyone thinks. I’m free,’” Lala added.
Vanderpump Rules season 11 airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.
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