Lala Kent is confused by how fast her Vanderpump Rules co-star, Ariana Madix, moved on to a new relationship after her ex-boyfriend, Tom Sandoval’s, affair with Rachel Leviss was exposed in March.
In an appearance on the Two Ts In a Pod podcast this week, Kent, 33, said she doesn’t “understand how” Madix, 38, how “could be that devastated” by Sandoval’s betrayal if she was dating someone new within weeks of the scandal breaking.
“When this happened on March 1st, and then I believe she had a wedding by March 10th and had already met a new guy…you started dating someone, you stayed in the house, you came back to this show,” Kent said of Madix. “I’m like, I understand the pain you’re going through, but if I’m relating to it, and then I’m seeing how you could move on from something so traumatic, I just don’t see how you could be that devastated.”
Madix began dating Daniel Wai shortly after news broke of Sandoval’s months-long affair with Leviss. Kent questioned how Madix could go from being “gray rocked” and avoidant on the Bravo reality show to dating someone new so fast after such a public betrayal.
Ariana Madix and Daniel Wai – Presley Ann/Getty Images for SoFi
Kent also accused Madix of having a “divaness” on set and not being forthcoming enough about the scandal while filming Vanderpump Rules season 10. She claimed producers had to shut down production to convince Madix to share more about her experience.
“Cameras shut down season 10 for producers to talk to Ariana, like, ‘You gotta give something. You gotta care a little bit,'” Kent revealed. “If you’re the type of person where you’re like, ‘I just don’t care.’ Excellent…I don’t know that [reality TV] is the space for you.”
Kent stood by her decision to break the fourth wall at the season 11 reunion and push Madix to confront Sandoval on camera about his infidelity. Despite criticism from co-star Tom Schwartz, Kent argued it’s part of doing a reality show authentically.
Ariana Madix and Daniel Wai – Daniel Wai / Instagram
The reality star also said she received “very loud” hate from viewers this past season, with some even attacking her parenting abilities. Nonetheless, Kent has been outspoken in her skepticism over how quickly Madix moved on romantically following the traumatic Scandoval.
Though filming for season 12 isn’t underway as of now, ET previously reported that the show isn’t coming to an end.
While Bravo doesn’t comment on casting, a source told ET, “There’s always a possibility of a cast shakeup, or having the legacy cast members move to The Valley, but no decisions have been made yet.”
Kent, who shares 3-year-old Ocean with ex Randall Emmett and is pregnant with her second child, was one VPR cast member that some thought may make the move to the series’ spinoff, which stars Jax Taylor, Brittany Cartwright and Kristen Doute.
Lala Kent – Nicole Weingart/Bravo
However, that appears to not be the case anymore, as Taylor has expressed his distaste for the idea, a comment Kent responded to on the podcast by calling him a “buffoon.” She also revealed that she and Taylor’s estranged wife, Cartwright, are “taking a break from each other.”
As for when VPR will begin filming season 12 — and which cast members will be there when cameras are picked up — ET’s source noted that cast member commitments to other projects — including Madix’s hosting duties on Love Island and her August return to Broadway, as well as Lisa Vanderpump likely filming a second season of Hulu’s Vanderpump Villa– “are factors at play in that decision.”
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