Ariana Madix’s BFF Doesn’t Want Her to Return to ‘Pump Rules’

Credit: Ben Symons/Peacock

Ariana Madix‘s best friend Brad does not think she should return to Vanderpump Rules for its upcoming 12th season.

With casting on the new episodes up in the air ahead of production, Brad responded to an Instagram user who questioned him about his thoughts on Ariana’s potential return as Ariana’s co-star and business partner, Katie Maloney, 37, hinted that she’ll be joining her on an upcoming episode of Love Island USA.

“Do you think Ariana should go back on [Vanderpump Rules]?” the IG user asked Brad on Sunday, July 7, as seen in a screenshot shared by Taste of Reality on Instagram.

“No,” Brad replied, along with a photo of Tamra Judge, 56, screaming on a Real Housewives of Orange County reunion.

As Ariana remains tight-lipped about whether or not she’ll return to Pump Rules for season 12, she’s enjoying time in Fiji, where she’s filming the sixth season of Love Island USA. As fans well know, Ariana was named as the host of the Peacock series earlier this year.

While Katie has been in Los Angeles throughout Ariana’s run on the show, where she’s been holding down the fort at their newly opened sandwich shop, Something About Her, she took to her Instagram Story on Tuesday, July 9, to confirm she was “going somewhere cool.”

In a series of posts seen on the Instagram page of Bye Wig Hello Drama, Katie featured a photo from inside of a Fiji Airways plane. And on the screen in front of her seat, it was confirmed that she was headed to the Nadi International Airport in Nadi, Fiji.

“Katie Maloney is going to Fiji!!!!! I’m assuming to see Ariana! Maybe she will be in a Love Island episode??” the fan page wondered.

Earlier this month, while appearing on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast, Katie admitted that it was “hard” running Something About Her without Ariana.

“I just try to keep her in the loop of everything that’s going on. But it’s hard sometimes because I want her to be around and experiencing everything and the little things that I might forget to mention in our conversations,” Katie explained.

Vanderpump Rules season 12 is expected to begin filming sometime later this year.