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Credit: Charles Sykes/Bravo
Lala Kent admitted to being “concerned” going into filming on Vanderpump Rules season 11 on a recent episode of her podcast, saying that because Ariana Madix had never really brought anything to the show, she worried about the aftermath of “Scandoval” being front and center.
After comedian Heather McDonald, 53, pointed out that Ariana’s only storylines ahead of Tom Sandoval, 41, and Rachel “Raquel” Leviss‘ affair were her sketch comedy pursuits and bisexuality, Lala, 33, said she feared the season wouldn’t be a success as she also shaded Ariana, 38, for failing to move past Sandoval’s cheating.
“I agree with you and I think that’s another reason I was very nervous going into this season — knowing that our main story — this year, it was the aftermath of Tom and Ariana,” Lala shared on the April 3 episode of Give Them Lala, via Bye Wig Hello Drama on Instagram. “I’m sitting here going, ‘Our main storyline is lying in the hands of someone who has really never brought anything to this show and I’m f*cking concerned.’”
When Heather then noted that if Lala had shared what she really went through with her former fiance, Randall Emmett, 53, fans would likely think differently about her, Lala seemingly suggested that producers nearly welcomed her ex back to the show to expose what had happened.
“That’s why, when I had the phone call, where there was maybe a time that they were gonna get him back, I said, ‘We can go one of two ways,’” she recalled.
During another segment of the show, also shared by Bye Wig Hello Drama on Instagram, Lala looked back on how Ariana supported her after the death of her dad as she explained the reaction she’s had to Ariana’s handling of “Scandoval.”
“I remember being really appreciative of when my dad died and I was acting out and she had sat me down and said, like, ‘When my dad died, this is what happened and how the group treated me,’ and it was almost like she’s showing me a window into what this looks like with this group,” Lala noted. “And so when I bring things up that I’ve experienced, I’m hoping that I can show her a window.”
According to Lala, she believes there are “nuances” to every situation. And when it comes to Ariana giving her advice based on her own experiences, she may have had a different relationship with her father.
“She may not have been as close with her dad as I was with my dad,” Lala suspected.
Lala then addressed Ariana’s dog drama with Sandoval, which erupted on last week’s Pump Rules as Mya was hospitalized after being locked in Ariana’s room — reportedly by Sandoval — and eating her leftovers.
“She doesn’t want to talk to him and have a productive conversation. The only thing I can relate to that is her dog is her baby. Ocean is my baby. There’s times where, in my situation, I said, ‘I’m never talking to this human again,’ and then something happens where we have to have a productive conversation where I have to let every single thing go for the well-being of my daughter,” Lala reasoned.
“In this situation, the dog almost died. You have to now, while you’re in the house, put everything he’s done to you aside,” she added.
Vanderpump Rules season 11 airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.